TOPEKA, Kan. --- Washburn volleyball returns to Lee Arena on Tuesday as it begins a four-match home stand with a 7 pm showdown against Emporia State. The Ichabods and Hornets are tied for seventh in the MIAA standings at 5-6 with just a handful of matches remaining in the season. Tuesday's match-up will also be the ThinkPink Breast Cancer Awareness night. Live stats and video streaming for the match will be made available -- links can found by visiting wusports.com/live or the volleyball schedule page.
THEY GOT HISTORY
Tuesday will be the 118th meeting, although according to ESU it'll be match number 101 (we're right though) ... Washburn trails the all-time series 40-77 (or 38-64, depending on which record book you'd rather believe) ... the Ichabods have been won their last eight meetings versus ESU at Lee Arena, dating back to the 2009 season.
THINK PINK BREAST CANCER AWARENESS NIGHT
According to the American Cancer Society, the average women in the United States has a 1 in 8 or 12 percent chance of developing breast cancer at sometime in her life. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women with 1 in 37 (about 2.7 percent) losing their battle each year. Early detection of breast cancer however can yield as much as 100 percent survival rate for those diagnosed. There are currently more than 3.1 million breast cancer survivors in the United States. Please join the Ichabod volleyball program and Washburn Athletics as we join the fight against breast cancer.
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 Tuesday's match sophomore Erica Montgomery is the team leader in kills (250) and kills per set (2.87) with freshman Genna Berg registering 226 and 2.72, respectively ... freshman Faith Rottinghaus headlines the list of names for digs (395) and digs per set (4.54) ... Allison Maxwell is second in total blocks (79) and blocks per set (1.04).
ICHABOD BLOCK PARTY
Washburn enters its weekend schedule as one of the top blocking teams in nation ... the Ichabods' 206 team blocks is 10th in the Division II while their 2.37 blocks per set has them check in at 18th-overall ... as a result, Washburn also leads the MIAA in each respect category ... Makayla and Allison Maxwell lead the charge as each are among the top 85 blockers in the country ... Makayla's 1.16 blocks per set is 34th nationally while her 100 total blocks has her listed 19th in Division II ... Allison checks in 83rd in blocks per set (1.04) and 84th in total blocks (79).
SADLER DELIVERY INC.
Freshman Allison Sadler has been a dynamic addition to the Ichabod lineup dishing out team-bests in assists (703) and assists per set (9.25) and thus among the top 100 setters in Division II at 94th and 92nd, respectively ... Sadler has distributed 40 or more assists in 10 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 18th on the Washburn career assist chart with the third fewest sets played (76) of anyone listed in the Top 20.
RECORD WATCH LIST
• Junior Shayla Conner is among the top 25 in Washburn's all-time assists list ... Conner ranks 23nd overall with 567 ... Conner has averaged 194 assists over the last two seasons.
• Junior Makayla Maxwell is tied with Susan Crooks (2000-03) for 27th on the Washburn's career block chart with 230 ... Maxwell has registered at least 100 total blocks for the second consecutive season, finishing 2016 with a single-season best of 103 ... she has averaged 65 blocks her in last two seasons ... Maxwell is also 10th overall in blocks per set (0.99) and 45th on the career list in kills (390).
• Senior Taylor Selk is 32nd in hitting percentage (.173), 33rd in blocks per set (0.51) and is 31st in total kills (615).
WEEKLY WRAP-UP
Washburn struggled last weekend as it dropped a pair of matches in a road trip to Missouri as it fell to Northwest Missouri on Friday before succumbing to a Missouri Western on Saturday, both matches finished 3-1.
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 face nationally-ranked Nebraska-Kearney for senior night on Friday, Oct. 27.
