FIRST SERVE …
>> With the 2019 regular season in the books, No. 3 Washburn begins postseason play this week at the MIAA Championship Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. As the second-seed, the Ichabods will take on the seven-seed, Pittsburg State, in the quarterfinal match on Thursday, Nov. 21, at noon.
QUICK HITS …
>> Washburn faced Pittsburg State twice this season with both resulting in 3-0 shutout victories.
>> The Ichabods are on an 11-match winning streak and suffered just two losses this season, both to the undefeated Nebraksa-Kearney Lopers.
>> The Ichabods finished the season going 10-1 on the road and 13-1 in Lee Arena. They are a 3-0 when playing in neutral site matches.
>> Nineteen of Washburn's 26 wins have been shutouts.
>> Washburn has won all three matches this season that have gone to five sets.
>> Genna Berg was named the season's final MIAA Hitter of the Week (Nov. 20). She won the award three times this season and four different Ichabods tallied seven weekly awards from the conference this season.
>> WU remained No. 3 for the third-consecutive week in the latest AVCA top-25 rankings.
MIAA TOURNAMENT …
>> For the first time ever, the MIAA Volleyball Championship Tournament (Nov. 21-23) will be played at the HyVee Arena in Kansas City, Mo.
>> Fans can purchase an all-tournament pass for $20 or a single match ticket for adults is $10 and for students it is $5.
>> Washburn earned a place in the tournament for the 12th time since joining the conference in 1990.
>> The Ichabods are 12-12 all-time in the MIAA Tournament with an 8-2 record in the quarterfinals.
>> Washburn has played in four championship matches, including last season when the Ichabods nearly completed a five-set comeback against Nebraska-Kearney after losing the first two sets.
>> The Ichabods and Gorillas have only faced once in the MIAA Tournament back on Nov. 9, 2007. Pittsburg State won in five sets (23-30, 20-30, 30-26, 30-25, 13-15).
>> WU is 6-4 in the tournament as the second-seed.
LAST TIME OUT …
>> Washburn closed out the regular season with road victories against two top-20 ranked teams.
>> The Ichabods first traveled to Maryville, Mo., where they swept then-ranked No. 19 Northwest Missouri State (25-20, 25-15, 27-25).
>> Berg led the team in kills (12) and tied for Faith Rottinghaus for the most digs (17).
>> The following day, Washburn battled back from being down 2-0 to win a five-set thriller against No. 10 Central Missouri (26-28, 25-27, 25-14, 25-18, 15-12).
>> Berg tied a career-high in kills and digs as she finished with 25 kills and 22 digs. She also added three of Washburn's six aces.
>> Three other Ichabods finished with double-figure kills: Erica Montgomery (15), Allison Maxwell (13), and Kelsey Gordon (10).
>> Sadler handed out 60 assists against the Jennies.
ICHABOD LEADERS IN THE MIAA …
>> As a team, Washburn leads the MIAA in five categories and is in the top-three in 11 total categories.
>> The Ichabods lead the league in kills/set (14.46) and service aces/set (1.48).
>> They also lead in holding their opponents to the lowest average in assists/set (9.27), kills/set (10.17), digs/set (15.69), and the second-lowest opponent hitting percentage (.128).
>> Several Ichabods are ranked in the top-10 throughout the conference statistics list.
>> Sadler leads the MIAA in assists/set, averaging 11.11.
>> Taylor Antonowich tops the conference list with 0.36 service aces/set.
>> Berg has the second-best kills/set average in the league with 3.80 and is third in aces/set with 0.35.
>> Maxwell, Gordon, and Berg are ranked 10-12 in attacking percentage.
>> Gordon and Maxwell are also both in the top-six for blocks, as Gordon is averaging 0.90 blocks/set and Maxwell is close behind at 0.89/set for fifth and sixth, respectively.
>> Rottinghaus is third in digs/set with 5.45.
NATIONAL RANKS …
>> Washburn volleyball has been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 Poll for the past 22-straight rankings, dating back to Sept. 17, 2018. The team has also been in the top-five for the entirety of this season.
>> The Ichabods are eighth in the nation in kills/set, 18th in assists/set, and 21st in digs/set.
>> Washburn is also fouth in winning percentage (.929).
>> Sadler's assists/set average is the 18th-best in all of Division II.
>> Rottinghaus is currently 30th in the nation in digs/set and Berg is 40th in kills/set.
>> In 14 home games played this season, Washburn attracted 8,033 fans to Lee Arena, which is the fourth-best home attendance number in the nation this season.
HEAD COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 18th season leading the Washburn volleyball program and holds an overall record of 530-105 and is 254-61 in MIAA matches.
>> Herron's career collegiate winning percentage of .819 is sixth-best among active Division II coaches and is 17th-best all-time in D-II.
>> Herron is 31-5 all-time against Pittsburg State.
>> He holds a career record of 353-42 when matches go three sets.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Antonowich is 21 shy of 600 career digs and is 32 kills away from hitting 300.
>> Montgomery is a dozen kills away from becoming the 22nd player at Washburn to reach 1,000 kills.
>> Maxwell is 44 kills short of 900 and just six solo blocks away from making 50 in her career.
>> Rottinghaus needs 39 more digs to have scoooped up 1,800 in her career.
>> 32 kills would move Berg up into the top-20 in Washburn career kills.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Pittsburg State Gorillas
>> The Pittsburg State Gorillas wrapped up the regular season with a record of 14-15 (9-11 MIAA).
>> In the final match of the season, the Gorillas nearly upset No. 2 Nebraska-Kearney in five sets. After falling in the first two games, Pittsburg State won sets three and four, but ultimately fell in the fifth set, 15-8.
>> The Gorillas have an .178 attacking percentage while their opponents are hitting .184 this season.
>> The rest of the stats are nearly even down the line between Pittsburg State and its opponents.
>> Erika Ivkov does a little bit of everything for the team as she leads it offensively with 274 kills (3.08 kills/set) and has a team-high 28 service aces, which is fifth in the MIAA. She is also a defensive force for the Gorillas with 322 digs (3.62/set).
>> Morgan Henning has the third-highest attacking percentage in the conference, hitting at a .334 clip.
>> Brianna Richard and Laura Willoughby split time setting up the offense. Richard has recorded 551 assists while Willoughby has dished out 388 this season and both have over 150 digs.
>> Marissa Bates has scooped up 362 digs (3.93).
>> Emily Regier has made 62 total blocks at the net, with 13 solo stops.
>> Head coach Jen Gomez is in her fourth season leading the Gorillas.
>> The Ichabods lead the all-time series, 68-21, and have won the last 22-straight meetings.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE GORILLAS ...
>> Washburn swept Pittsburg State earlier this season on Oct. 12 and Nov. 8.
>> In the two matches, the Ichabods have a combined .321 attacking percentage while holding the Gorillas to .090 hitting.
>> WU has led in kills, 92-58, and in digs, 113-92. The Ichabods have also landed 11 aces while allowing only four.
>> Nine of the 10 Ichabods who attempted a serve against the Gorillas recorded at least one ace.
>> Over the course of the six sets played against each other, Berg has fired off 27 kills (4.5/set) for a .354 hitting percentage.
>> Montgomery has recorded 19 kills and Sadler dished out 62 total assists (10.33/set).
>> Gordon made seven total blocks with two all on her own.
>> Rottinghaus made 35 digs (5.83/set) and Antonowich successfully received 46 of 48 service attempts for a .958 percentage.
>> Ivkov has compiled nine kills and 21 digs in the two matches against each other.
>> Willoughby has racked up 28 assists and 17 digs.
>> Regier has made five total blocks with one solo stop.
