THE SETUP
For the 14th-time in program history Washburn volleyball appears in the NCAA Regional Championship. The Ichabods enter the opening phase of the tournament with a overall record of 29-4. Washburn will face Northern Sun (NSIC) member, Northern State (S.D.).

THEY GOT HISTORY
Thursday's matchup with the Wolves will be the first-ever meeting volleyball, but will be the second time in less than 12-months the schools have been pitted against each, as the sides squared off in opening round of the men's basketball regional tournament. Washburn's first-ever postseason meeting with Northern State was Dec. 4, 2004, as the Ichabod football team defeated NSU, 36-33, in the Mineral Water Bowl on a last-second FG.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY
• This is Washburn's first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2015.
• The Ichabods are 11-13 all-time in the tournament, having advanced to the regional semifinal round or further seven times in addition to a NCAA National Championship semifinal appearance in 2007.
• This is Washburn's sixth time qualifying for Regionals as the third-seed.
• Against NSIC teams, WU is a combined 0-3 with a loss to Concordia-St. Paul in 2014, sandwiched between a pair of defeats by Southwest Minnesota.

THE BRACKET SHAKEDOWN
The MIAA regular-season and tournament champion, Nebraska-Kearney was named the top-seeded team and host for the tournament. The eight-team NCAA Central Regional is made of three from the MIAA, four the NSIC and one representative from the Great American Conference.

ABOUT NORTHERN STATE
• The Wolves began the postseason ranked fifth in the AVCA poll.
• Northern State is making back-to-back NCAA trips with 2018 marking its fourth-ever appearance.
• At 17-3, NSU was the NSIC co-regular season champion with Minnesota Duluth.
• In the NSIC Championships, the Wolves advanced to the semifinals before falling to Southwest Minnesota in the semifinals in five sets.
• NSU is 2-0 against MIAA opponents this season with 3-0 wins over Fort Hays State and Lindenwood.
• NSU leads Division II in hitting (.298) while ranking 12th in kills per set with 14.27.
• Defensively, the Wolves are 106th nationally in opponent hitting (.167), 110th in digs per set (16.83) and 115th in blocks per set (1.86).
• NSU is led by NSIC first team selections Hailey Busch, Ashley Rozell, Jenna Reiff and Laura Snyder.
• Rozell is among the Div. II top 10 in assists per set (5th, 12.31) and assists (9th, 1,329 while leading the NSIC in aces (55).
• Reiff and Snyder are both among the top 30 nationally in hitting at .381 and .367 respectively.
• NSU is under the direction of NSIC Coach of the Year Brent Aldridge.

TOUGH DEFENSE
• During the MIAA Championship, WU amassed 42 blocks in three matches, averaging 14 per match.
• The Ichabods are coming off their best single-match blocking performance in over a decade, recording 20 blocks for the first time since Sept. 2005.
• The Washburn defense enters the tournament listed among NCAA Division II Top 25 in opponent hitting percent (12th/0.119), digs per set (13th/19.74) and blocks per set (22nd/2.30).
• Heading into Thursday, Washburn has held opponents to sub-.200 hitting in 28 of 33 matches, with 15 below the .100 mark including a season-low -.029 against Southeastern Oklahoma (8/25).

ATTACK ATTACK ATTACK
• Washburn tallied 171 kills (14.25 per set) during its three MIAA Championship matches while hitting .213.
• The Ichabods recorded a season-high 72 kills against UNK in the championship finals last weekend.
• Among the national leader board, the Ichabod attack is among Div. II's top 25 in kills per set (17th/14.22) and assists per set (22th/13.18) while ranking 37th in hitting (.234).
• WU has hit .250 or better 15 times this season and has surpassed .300 on four occasions including a season-best, .413 versus Southern Arkansas (8/31). The was held to a season-low .087 by UCO (11/2).

TRADITION OF SUCCESS
The Ichabods have made a habit out of appearing in the NCAA tournament, reaching the milestone 14 times in the past 17 seasons under head coach Chris Herron. Washburn has won five MIAA Championships under Herron and were runners-ups in 2016 and 2018. In the last seven seasons, Washburn volleyball has had 12 All-Americans, including three in 2016.

50TH SEASON
The 2018-19 academic year marks the 50th season of women's athletics at Washburn University, which began with volleyball, basketball, softball, field hockey and  gymnastics. Although, field hockey and gymnastics are no longer available, the offerings for female student-athletes have grown to eight sports with the addition of soccer, tennis, and most cross country and track and field.