TOPEKA, Kan. --- Washburn volleyball will trek to the northwest corner of the Show Me State for a pair of weekend matches as it squares off against Northwest Missouri on Friday before facing Missouri Western on Saturday. The Ichabods are 14-7 overall and part of a four-team tie with Lindenwood, Emporia State and Northwest Missouri for fifth in the MIAA at 5-4. Both matches are slated for a 6 pm start, with live stats and video streaming made available -- links can found by visiting wusports.com/live or the volleyball schedule page.
THEY GOT HISTORY
Friday's match marks the 68th meeting between Washburn and the Bearcars, with the Ichabods leading the all-time series 48-19 which includes a 14-match win streak dating back to the 2010 season ... Washburn is 18-7 when playing in Maryville ... Saturday's will be the 87th match between Washburn and Missouri Western, with the Griffons edging out the Ichabods, 41-45, for the series lead ... dating back to 2001, Washburn is 12-2 when playing MWSU in St. Joseph and are currently riding a six-match win streak against the Griffons.
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 starter ... going into this weekend's slate of games sophomore Erica Montgomery is the team leader in kills (231) and kills per set (2.92) with freshman Genna Berg registering 200 and 2.67, respectively ... freshman Faith Rottinghaus headlines the list of names for digs (360) and digs per set (4.56) ... Allison Maxwell is second in total blocks (73) and blocks per set (1.04) ... Allison Sadler leads the Ichabod offense with 616 assists (9.06 per set).
ICHABOD BLOCK PARTY... GONNA BE LIT!
Washburn enters its weekend schedule as one of the top blocking teams in nation ... the Ichabods' 190 team blocks is 10th in the Division II while their 2.41 blocks per set has them check in at 14th-overall ... as a result, Washburn also leads the MIAA in each respect category and is the conference's lone representative listed among the top 20 ... Makayla and Allison Maxwell lead the charge as each are among the top 80 blockers in the country ... Makayla's 1.17 blocks per set is 35th nationally while her 91 total blocks has her listed 18th in Division II ... Allison checks in at 79th in blocks per set (1.04) and 80th in total blocks (73).
SADLER DELIVERY INC.
Freshman Allison Sadler has a dynamic addition to the Ichabod lineup as dishing out team-bests in assists (616) and assists per set (9.06) and thus among the top 100 setters in Division II at 94th and 92nd, respectively ... Sadler has distributed 40 or more assists in eight matches while twice posting 60-assist efforts ... the first came then-No. 18 Central Missouri on Sept. 29, tying Carolyn Raynes for 19th-best single-match performance ... the freshman followed up with a career-best 62-assist outing versus then-No. 8 Central Oklahoma, tying Kate Hampson for 14th-best single-match assist together ... Sadler is currently 19th on the Washburn career assist chart with the third fewest sets played (68) of anyone listed in the Top 20.
#OOFA
The Ichabods will close the month of October with six matches in eight days ... the run begins with this weekend's trip to Missouri and includes a season-ending four-match home stand with rivals Emporia State and Nebraska-Kearney visiting Lee Arena ... the month will be capped with a triangular series on Saturday, Oct. 28 with Fort Hays State and non-conference foe, Oklahoma Baptist.
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.
• Junior Makayla Maxwell ranks 28th on Washburn's career block chart with 221 ... she has averaged 65 blocks her in last two seasons ... Maxwell is also 10th overall in blocks per set (0.98) and 45th on the career list in kills (379).
• Senior Taylor Selk is 32nd in hitting percentage (.169), 33rd in blocks per set (0.51) and is 32nd in total kills (595).
WEEKLY WRAP-UP
Washburn was perfect last weekend as it earned a pair of 3-0 victories over Southwest Baptist and Missouri Southern.
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.
UP NEXT
Washburn will look to avenge an early conference loss as it welcomes Emporia State to Lee Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 24. The match-up is slated for a 6 pm start and will be the team's annual ThinkPink Breast Cancer Awareness event. Special promotional items and donation areas will be part of the evening's event.
