TOPEKA, Kan. --- The No. 18 Washburn (11-2, 2-1) volleyball team returns to Schendel Court in Lee Arena for a short homestand as the the Ichabods continue MIAA action against Southwest Baptist (3-12, 0-2) and Missouri Southern (3-12, 0-2). The two-game series begins Friday at 7 p.m. against the Bearcats and will be followed with the 'Bods facing Missouri Southern Saturday at 6 p.m.
ICHABOD VOLLEYBALL STORYLINES
• The Ichabods look to gather wins three and four since opening the MIAA schedule.
• Washburn is unbeaten at Lee Arena since 2002 when facing Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern with a combined record of 25-0.
• The Ichabods went 2-1 in the first week of conference games this season.
• The Washburn volleyball program has gone 976-766 all-time and in NCAA play.
• Since 1999, the Ichabods are 31-0 against Southwest Baptist and hold a 28-4 record against Missouri Southern during the same time.
• The Ichabods went 2-1 in the first week of conference games this season.
• Sarah Vicory is ranked third in MIAA and seventh in Division II for hitting percentage with a mark of .410.
• Leanna Willer is sixth in the MIAA in both kills (163), kills per set (3.13) and third in service aces with 20 ... she is also ranked-nationally in kills (83rd) and kills per set (164th).
• Carney tops the MIAA in total digs (276) and digs per set (5.31) ... 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 7.62 and total assists with 346 ... Bates' numbers also have her ranked-nationally at 171st and 124th, respectively.
• Willer's 1,387 kills are tied for ninth in the Division II career active chart while her 3.54 kills per set for her career is 18th ... her 4,103 total attempts has Willer listed 4th on the active career leaders.
• Vicory's career hitting percentage of .352 is 6th-overall on the active career list.
• Carney's 1,654 career digs lands her 14th on the Division II active career lists.
START ME UP
• Under Chris Herron, WU has a history of starting the season hot in the first month of play, including an going 34-5 over the last two seasons ... in the month of October the Ichabods are 65-7 since 2010.
• All-time under Herron, Washburn is 222-29 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 39 of its 52 sets played.
RECORD CHART WATCH
• Senior outside hitter Leanna Willer sits at 1,387 kills at Washburn which ranks eight on the all-time chart … she needs 34 more to move into seventh 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 hitter 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 ... 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 387 total blocks are sixth all-time at Washburn ... with 13 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 1,600-assist milestone during the Ichabods' match on Sept. 23 again Nebraska-Kearney to move past Amanda Guess (2008-11) for ninth on the Washburn all-time list.
THE OTHER TEAMS
• Missouri Southern trails the all-time series 34-38 ... the Lions are 7-16 when at Lee Arena.
• Southwest Baptisit trails the all-time series 4-46 ... when playng at Lee Arena the Bearcats are 2-18.
• SBU's Dana Neal leads the team in kills (148), kills per set (2.64) and total attempts (468) ... Serena Mar averages 4.30 assists per set while Brea Freeman follows with 3.36 ... on defense Bailey Baumann leaads the Bearcats in digs per set (4.09) and digs (229)
• Bailey Rexford Christina Perlinger lead the MSSU attack with a 102 and 99 kills respectively ... entering the weekend Whitney Harrison averages 6.09 assists per set ... Kat Gries has a team-highs in digs (176) and digs per set (3.32).
LAST TIME OUT
FORT HAYS, Kan. --- Powered by a balanced attack the 18th-ranked Washburn volleyball team concluded its MIAA weekend road trip on Saturday with a 3-1 victory over Fort Hays State.
With the result, the Ichabods improve to 11-4 on the season and 2-1 in conferene play.
Senior Leanne Willer finished with a team-best 14 kills while classmate Sarah Vicory tallied 13 kills and a .278 hitting percentage. Senior Alyssa Carney and freshman Megan Pedersen also made notable contributions to the WU attack as Carney posted 28 digs as Pedersen tallied seven kills, 14 assists and a .294 hitting percentage.
After jostling for position early and battling to an 8-8 tie, Washburn took control of the first set with a 9-2 run to push the score to 17-10. Even after a Tigers' timeout, the Ichabods maintained momentum as they opened the gap to as much as eight en route to taking the first point by the score of 25-16.
WU kept the pace up in the second frame as it jumped to an early 7-3 lead before pushing the gap to as much as 10. With the Ichabods out front 23-13 Fort Hays (13-2,1-2) began to chip away at the advantage spurred on by back-to-back kills. Feeling the momentum started to switch sides Washburn called a timeout to regroup.
Out of the huddle, Fort Hays scored twice more before Willer interrupted the Tigers' 6-0 run to make it 24-19. Another FHSU scoring spurt sliced the once double-digit advantage to 24-22 before Washburn escaped the set due to a Fort Hays attack error.
After dropping the third set 25-21, the Ichabods began the fourth trailing 6-2. Back-to-back errors by Fort Hays combined with two of Willer's four aces on the day allowed Washburn to move out front where it remained en route to a 25-19 tally.
ABOUT COACH HERRON
• is in his 15th season at Washburn.
• has gone 436-82 at Washburn.
• has gone 199-45 in MIAA matches.
• as a college coach he is 511-111 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 185 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 RANKINGS
• 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
• Following the weekend homestand, the Ichabods will take a short mid-week trip to Emporia State on Tuesday, October 4 for a 7 p.m. match.
