ICHABOD VOLLEYBALL STORYLINES
• AVCA Division II Top 20 match, No. 18 Washburn at No. 3 Nebraska Kearney. 
• The Ichabods look for second MIAA win of the season.
• Washburn is 1-4 all-time while playing at UNK.
• The Ichabods opened the MIAA schedule with a 3-0 win over Emporia State at home.
• The Washburn volleyball program has gone 975-765 all-time and in NCAA play.
• Sarah Vicory is ranked third in MIAA in hitting percentage with a mark of .434.
• Makayla Maxwell is ranked 58th in the nation and tenth in the MIAA with a hitting percentage of .348.
• Leanna Willer is sixth in the MIAA in both kills (145), kills per set (3.22) and fifth in service aces with 16.
• Carney tops the MIAA in total digs (240) and digs per set (5.33) ... on Sept. 17 she tallied 37 digs in a match against Northwestern Oklahoma State to set a Washburn single-match record surpassing Erica Cowhick's 34 dig performances in Oct. 2006 and 2007.  
• Natalie Bates is eighth in the conference in assists per set with 7.95 and total assists with 310.
• Willer's 1,369 kills are ninth in the Division II career active chart and 27th all-time… her 3.56 kills per set for her career is 17th on the active chart.
• Vicory's career hitting percentage of .350 is 7th-overall on the active career list.
• Washburn is 1-4 when playing at Nebraska Kearney dating back to 1977.

START ME UP
• Under Chris Herron, WU has a history of starting the season hot in the first month of play, including an going 33-4 over the last two seasons.
• All-time under Herron, Washburn is 221-28 in the first month of the season.
• The Ichabods have lost no more than four games in the first month of the season since Herron's arrival, and no more than three since 2006 … this season the Ichabods have won 36 of its 45 sets played.

RECORD CHART WATCH
• Senior outside hitter Leanna Willer sits at 1,369 kills at Washburn which ranks ninth on the all-time chart … she needs 12 more to move into eighth on the all-time list … 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 hitterVicory 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 ... the milestone was reached on Friday, Spet. 16 against host Oklahoma Baptist ... she is now ranked 35th in NCAA Division II active careers ... Vicory's .350 hitting percent ranks second all-time at Washburn entering her final season as an Ichabod … Mollie Lacy (2008-11) recorded a .365 hitting percentage to sit on top of the all-time chart … Vicory's 382 total blocks are sixth all-time at Washburn  ... with 18 more blocks she will become just the third Ichabod in school-history to have at least 1,000 kills and 400 blocks.
• Senior setter Natalie Bates reached the 1,500-assist milestone during the Ichabods' MIAA/GAC Crossover matchup against Oklahoma Baptist on Sept. 16  to move past Tami Dall (1983-85) for tenth on the Washburn all-time list ... Bates finished the MIAA/GAC Crossover series with 107 assists ... Bates enters the match seven shy of the 1,600-assist milestone and is 17 away from Amanda Guess (2008-11) for ninth on the Washburn all-time list.

ABOUT THE LOPERS
• Nebraska Kearney leads the all-time series 30-9 ... Lopers are 4-1 all-time against Washburn.
• UNK leads the nation is hitting percentage (.347), opponent hitting percentage (.036) and is one of nine teams in the country with an unbeaten record (15-0).
• Lopers are also ranked in the top 25 in seven other categories including team total blocks (7th, 101.5), team assists (10th, 550), team kills (11th, 590), assists per set (19th, 12.79), blocks per set (20th, 2.36), kills per set (22nd, 13.72).
• Nebraska Kearney opened its MIAA schedule on Tuesday with a 3-1 win against Fort Hays State ... the week before  the Lopers went 5-0 as they traveled to the Commonwealth State and took part in the Merrimack College Invitational held in North Andover, Massachusetts.

LAST TIME OUT
TOPEKA, Kan. --- The Washburn volleyball team swept Emporia State in the MIAA schedule opener with a 3-0 victory at the Schendel Court at Lee Arena.

With the result, the No. 18 Ichabods improve to 10-3 overall, 1-0 league play and extend their win streak to 14 matches over the Hornets (7-6, 0-1).

Leading the way for Washburn were seniors Sarah Vicory who finished with 12 kills and a .750 hitting percentage while Leanna Willer posted 10 kills. Also contributing was Natalie Bates who tallied her 17th double-double of her career with 21 assists and 11 digs while hitting .500.

During the first set, the teams traded possession of the lead to a 16-16 tie before an Emporia State service error put Washburn out front. The Ichabods capitalized on the missed hit to eventually claim the opening set 25-20.

Both sides again swapped went back and forth during the early stages of the middle frame until a four-point run by WU gave it an 8-4 advantage. After another point-for-point exchange ESU rattled off five straight to tie the set at 9-9. As the set progressed, the Ichabods were able to score points in bunches and pull away to seize the point with a 25-20 result.

After another saw-see stretch to open the final stanza, WU went on a 5-1 run to a 7-4 lead. The Hornets then rallied back to tie the frame at 7-7 with four straight points, before registering seven unanswered to make it 14-12 Emporia State. Despite trailing, the Ichabods remained composed and outscored ESU 13-5 the rest of the way to close out the night by the score of 25-19. 

ABOUT COACH HERRON
• is in his 15th season at Washburn.
• has gone 435-81 at Washburn.
• has gone 198-44 in MIAA matches.
• as a college coach he is 504-110 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.
• 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 184 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 10 112 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.

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.

UP NEXT
• Washburn will wrap up its weekend road trip with a 2 p.m. match on Saturday against Fort Hays State at the Gross Memorial Coliseum.