TOPEKA, Kan. --- Washburn volleyball wraps up its six-match home stand at Lee Arena this weekend as it faces MIAA foes, Southwest Baptist at 7 pm on Friday and Missouri Southern on Saturday at 2 pm.
THEY GOT HISTORY
Friday's match will be the 52nd all-time meeting between Washburn and Southwest Baptist, with the Ichabods leading the series 47-4 ... Washburn is 19-2 at home against the Bearcats with a 32-match win streak, which dates back to the 1999 campaign... Saturday's matinée event will be the 74th meeting between Washburn and Missouri Southern ... Washburn holds a narrow 39-34 series advantage to Lions with a 17-7 record at home and a 27-match win streak dating back to the 2002 season.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
The 2017 lineup for the Ichabods features 11 underclassmen on the roster including seven true freshmen ... head coach Chris Herron has relied heavily on the younger players with five freshman seeing regular playing time and with just one upperclassman as a regular starter ... going into this weekend's slate of games sophomore Erica Montgomery is the team leader in kills (219) and kills per set (3.00) with freshman Genna Berg registering 181 and 2.62, respectively ... freshman Faith Rottinghaus headlines the list of names for digs (333) and digs per set (4.56) ... Allison Maxwell is second in total blocks (61) and blocks per set (0.95) ... Allison Sadler leads the Ichabod offense with 566 assists (9.13 per set).
THE MAX(WELLS)
Allison and Makayla Maxwell (no family relation) have a been force and presence on both sides the net for the Ichabods this season ... the duo have thus far accounted for roughly 31 percent of all Washburn's kills this season (288-of-920) while causing opponents problems as the team's top blockers ... Makayla, a junior, leads the team with 81 blocks (17 solo-64 assisted) with Allison (freshman) following with 61 blocks (10 solo-51 assisted) ... as a result of their performances this season, the Maxwells find themselves among the conference and national leaders ... Makayla is fourth in the MIAA and 49th in Division II in blocks per set (1.13) while ranking 14th nationally and third in the conference in total blocks ... Allison's blocks per set (0.95) is eighth-best among the conference and 128th in nation while her block total is 10th in the MIAA and 99th in Division II ... Allison edges out Makayla in hitting percent for eighth (.284) in the MIAA while Makayla takes 11th (.274).
SHE'S ALL THE WAY UP
After becoming the first Washburn player in nearly nine seasons to dish out 60 assists in a single-match, Allison Sadler accomplished the feat in back-to-back weeks ... Sadler's first 60-assist performance was against then-No. 18 Central Missouri on Sept. 29, tying Carolyn Raynes for 19th-best single-match performance ... the freshman followed up with a 62-assist outing versus then-No. 8 Central Oklahoma, tying Kate Hampson for 14th-best single-match assist together ... the Washburn single-match assist record is 74 set by Nicole Nantz on Sept. 18, 1999.
RECORD WATCH LIST
• Junior Shayla Conner is among the top 25 in Washburn's all-time assists list ... Conner ranks 23nd overall with 562 assists and is 27 assists shy of moving into the top 20 ... Conner has averaged 194 assists over the last two seasons.
• Freshman Allison Sadler is listed No. 22 on the Washburn career assists rankings with 566 ... she is the fourth player to be in the Top 25 with less than 100 sets played (62).
• Junior Makayla Maxwell ranks 28th on Washburn's career block chart with 211 and needs 25 more to enter the Top 25 ... Maxwell has averaged 65 blocks her in last two seasons ... she is also 11th overall in blocks per set (0.96) and 45th on the career list in kills (368).
• Senior Taylor Selk is 32nd in hitting percentage (.170), 33rd in blocks per set (0.51) and is 33rd in total kills (583).
WEEKLY WRAP-UP
Washburn went 1-1 last week as it swept Pittsburg State, 3-0, before dropping a tough five-set decision to No. 8 Central Oklahoma, 3-2.
1,000-WIN CLUB
After starting the 2017 season seven wins shy of 1,000 victories, the Ichabods reached the milestone with a 3-1 victory over Christian Brother (Tenn.) during the Arkansas Tech Invitational on Sept. 15 ... the result made Washburn the 48th program in NCAA volleyball history and 10th Division II member to accomplish the milestone.
MIAA PRESEASON POLL
The Ichabods were predicted to finish third in the MIAA after earning 101 points and one first-place vote. Last season's champion Nebraska-Kearney topped the poll with 120 points and 10 first-place votes, while Central Oklahoma came in second with 105 points and also garnered one first-place nod ... WU finished the 2016 season with a 16-2 conference record and run to the conference tournament finals.
TRADITION OF SUCCESS
The Ichabods have made a habit out of appearing in the NCAA tournament, reaching the milestone 13 times in the past 15 seasons under head coach Chris Herron ... Washburn has won five MIAA Championships under Herron and were runners-ups in 2016 ... In the last five seasons, Washburn volleyball has had 12 All-Americans, including three in 2016.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
For fans who aren't able to catch games in-person, they can follow all the great Ichabod volleyball action either by following live stats or by watching the game on Washburn Ichabod channel through the MIAA Network -- links available by visiting volleyball team page or wusports.com/live.
UP NEXT
Washburn will return to hit the road next week with matches the Show Me state. The Ichabods will open the trip in Maryville against Northwest Missouri on Friday, Oct. 20 before hopping down to St. Joseph to face Missouri Western on Oct. 21.
