KEARNEY, Neb. --- After facing Central Oklahoma less than a week ago in its regular season, the Washburn volleyball team will again clash with the Bronchos on Friday in Kearney, Nebraska. As the highest remaining seed in the tournament Nebraska-Kearney will serve as host for both semifinal matchups on Friday as well as Saturday's championship game. First serve between Washburn and UCO is slated for 5 p.m.

Ichabod Volleyball Storylines
• Washburn looks to extend winning streak to seven ... wrapped up regular season with a six match win streak including three wins over ranked opponents.
• This will be the third meeting between between the Ichabods and UCO ... the teams split the season series 1-1 ... WU is 9-6 all-time against UCO with and 0-1 mark in neutral site games.
• Second-straight year Washburn faces UCO in semifinal round of MIAA Tournament ... Ichabods loss the 2015 meeting in four sets (23-25, 25-22, 16-25, 22-25).
• The winner of Washburn/Central Oklahoma will face winner of Nebraska-Kearney/Central Missouri on Saturday ... time is TBA
• The Washburn volleyball program has gone 991-767 all-time and in NCAA play.
• Ichabods finished the regular season at 26-5 overall, 16-2 in league play ... went 2-0 in final week of season with wins over Pittsburg State and No. 9 Central Oklahoma.
• Washburn clinched a berth into the 2016 MIAA Volleyball tournament on Oct. 28 ... secured No. 2-seed with win against UCO last Saturday, Nov. 12.
• The Ichabods sit atop MIAA in in digs per set (17.77) and team attacks per set (37.87) ... also ranked third in team digs (2,008) and opponent hitting percentage (.128).
• Alyssa Carney leads the MIAA in digs per set (5.34) and total digs with 603 ... recorded season-high 37 digs on Sept. 17.
• Carney is nationally ranked in digs (26th) and digs per set (37th) ... her 1,981 career digs has her 14th on the Division II active career lists and currently has her listed 42st all-time.
• Carney is averaging 20.80 digs in the last five matches with a per set rate of 5.78.
• Sarah Vicory is ranked in the MIAA among the top five in three categories including blocks/set (5th/1.02), hitting percentage (2nd/.394) and total blocks (5th/109) ... among the top 10 natioanlly in hitting percentage (6th).
• Vicory's career marks have her listed 7th-overall among the Division II career leaders in hitting percentage (.355) and career blocks (459).
• In the last five matches Vicory has a .402 hitting percentage, 29 total blocks (1.61 blocks/set) and a team-best 51 kills.
• Leanna Willer leads the MIAA in attacks per set (11.51) and is also among the top five in total kills (3rd/411), kills/set (4th/3.63) and points/set (4th/4.15) ... she is also ranked nationally for total attacks (11th), total kills (33rd) and attacks/set (23rd) ...  Willer's 1,635-career kills are eighth-best in the Division II career active chart and 26th all-time ... her 4,896 swings is third-best among active careers and seventh on the all-time list. 
• In the last five outings, Willer has amassed 50 kills and 47 digs ... averaging 10.0 kills and 9.4 digs per match with per set numbers of 2.78 and 2.61 respectively. 
• Natalie Bates is sixth in the conference in assists (928) and eighth in assists per set (8.29) ... Bates' numbers are also nationally-recognized as she sits 123rd-overall in assists and 160th in assists/set.
• In the last five outings, Bates has racked up 113 assists, averaging 6.28 per set ... the senior setter also has 50 digs in that time and eight kills during that time.

Final Push
• Under Chris Herron, the Ichabods are 43-15 during the final month of the season since 2009.
• All-time under Herron, Washburn is 64-31 in November and has played 30 postseason matches.
• The Ichabods have lost no more than four games in November since Herron's arrival … this season the Ichabods have won 81 of 106 sets played. Record Chart Watch
• Senior outside hitter Leanna Willer sits at 1,635 kills at Washburn for third on the all-time chart … she needs just 23 more to move into second all-time … in her three full seasons at Washburn, Willer has averaged 408 kills a season (377 as a freshman, 383 as a sophomore and 464 as a junior) which would put her around 1,632 which would be third all-time at Washburn.
• Senior outside hitter Sarah Vicory surpassed the 1,000-kill plateau during the MIAA/GAC Crossover slate of games to become the 20th player in program-history to join the 1,000-kill club ... entering her final season with a .350 hitting percentage Vicory ranks second all-time at Washburn … Mollie Lacy (2008-11) recorded a .365 hitting percentage to sit on top of the all-time chart … Vicory is fourth on Washburn's all-time block list with 459 ... she needs 41 more to reach 500 and 60 shy of third ... on Oct. 7, Vicory become just the third Ichabod in school-history to have at least 1,000 kills and 400 blocks.
• Senior setter Natalie Bates recorded back-to back performances of 50-plus assists during the week of Oct. 3 ... Bates' 2,170 career helpers is currently ninth-best on the Washburn all-time list ... she needs 50 more for eighth on the Washburn all-time list.
• Senior libero Alyssa Carney sits at 1,752 digs for her Washburn career for fourth on the all-time chart ... she needs 105 to move into third on the all-time list. The Other Side of the Net 
• UCO finished the season 29-3 with a 15-3 MIAA record.
• The Bronchos advanced to the semifinals with a three-set sweep of NW Missouri in the opening round … UCO is the third seed in the tournament.
• Stat leaders: kills, Taylor Bevis (402); assists, Katy Davis (1,217); blocks, Jordan Spence (106); dig, Dominique Lipari (466) Last time out
The No. 2-seeded Washburn volleyball team downed Missouri Western State in three sets (27-25, 25-17, 26-24) Tuesday evening to advance to the semifinal round of the MIAA Tournament which will be hosted by Nebraska-Kearney … Leanna Willer paced the offense with a match-high 12 kills, while also adding eight digs to her outing. Sarah Vicory and Megan Pedersen followed with seven kills apiece, while Makayla Maxwell and Taylor Selk each registered five. Natalie Bates finished with 16 assists, while Kelsey Barrick posted seven blocks. Alyssa Carney has a team-best 22 digs and two service aces … Collectively, Washburn (27-5) edged out Missouri Western State (17-15) in hitting percentage by a slim margin of .152 to .103 while also holding the No. 7-seed Griffons to sub-.100 hitting in each of the first two sets … Behind lengthy runs of 6-2 and 7-0 the Griffons controlled the opening set and owned a 17-8 lead. Washburn then rallied past as it registered 12 of the next 14 points to assume a 20-19 advantage. The sides alternated tallies until a kill from Vicory and a MWSU attack error helped WU claim a 1-0 match lead … Trailing 10-9 in the second, the Ichabods again used a lengthy 6-0 run to move out front 15-10. Behind a 4-0 spurt, Washburn led by as much as seven when it took a 19-12 lead. Missouri Western trimmed the margin to 19-15, but the late push was not enough as the Ichabods closed out the frame by posting six of the final 10 points to take a 2-0 lead … Highlight by a 5-1 run to open, MWSU controlled much the third set. With the Griffons leading 11-8, Washburn began to push back thanks in part to a 3-0 of spurt to tie the frame at 11-11. WU was unable to move past the Griffons as they reassumed a lead. MWSU remained out front until WU capitalized on a Griffons' attack error and back-to back kills from Willer seize a late 24-22 advantage.  MWSU knotted it up at 24-24, but kills from Pedersen and Willer put the Ichabods over the hump to complete the sweep. About Coach Herron
• is in his 15th season at Washburn.
• has gone 452-83 at Washburn.
• has gone 214-46 in MIAA matches.
• as a college coach he is 526-112 in his 18th season.
• has been named the MIAA Coach of the Year following the 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2011 seasons.
• has led the Ichabods to five MIAA regular season championships.
• has led the Ichabods to 13 NCAA postseason berths.
• his players have received 29 All-America awards, 66 all-region awards and has had 25 first team all-MIAA selections and 82 overall who have been honored as all-conference.
• has coached four CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, six CoSIDA Academic All-District selections, six MIAA Academic Excellence award winners (4.00 GPA), 29 MIAA Scholar Athletes (3.50+ GPA and all-MIAA honoree) and 121 MIAA Academic Honor Roll (3.00+ GPA) selections. AVCA National Poll Notes
• Washburn has been ranked in the AVCA poll 193 times in program history which is 15th all-time in Division II history.
• The Ichabods' highest ranking was No. 2 on Oct. 18, 2010.
• Washburn has been ranked in the top 10 114 times, which is ninth all-time among NCAA Division II schools.
• Under Chris Herron, the Ichabods have been ranked in the top 10 111 times - all but one time in school history have come under Herron's leadership.

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MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll
• Washburn volleyball was picked first in the MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll, released Thursday, Aug. 11 by the conference office.  Washburn received five first place votes and 110 total points, earning the top nod for the first time since 2012.  Washburn finished the 2015 season at 28-6.

Winning
• The Ichabods have made a habit out of appearing in the NCAA, reaching that milestone the past 12 years and 13 times under head coach Chris Herron ... additionally, Washburn has won five MIAA Championships under Herron and has its sights set on another in 2015 ... This season, Washburn returns an All-American to the court for the ninth-straight year in Sarah Vicory and Leanna Willer, two of 29 all-time All-Americans at Washburn.