FIRST SERVE … 

>> The No. 3 Washburn volleyball team (22-2, 14-2 MIAA) will conclude the home portion of their 2019 schedule this weekend hosting Pittsburg State (Friday, Nov. 8) and Missouri Southern (Saturday, Nov. 9). Both matches are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and the Ichabods will celebrate the career of senior Erica Montgomery before the match against the Lions.



QUICK HITS … 

>> The Ichabods are on a seven-match winning streak and won the previous three matches by the score of 3-0.

>> Sixteen of Washburn's 22 wins have been shutouts.

>> Washburn is 11-1 when play in Lee Arena this season.

>>  WU moved up one place in the this week's AVCA rankings to No. 3.

>> Including Washburn, there are seven teams from the Central Region ranked in the top-10 nationally.

>> The first regional rankings were released on Nov. 6 with the Ichabods checking in at No. 6. in the Central Region.

>> The top-eight teams in each region will advance to the NCAA Tournament (Dec. 5-7).

>> Washburn has held a commanding advantage in kills over its opponents this season and leads 1150-818.



LAST TIME OUT … 

>> Washburn went 3-0 last week at home with sweeps against Emporia State, Central Oklahoma, and Newman.

>> In the nine sets played, the Ichabods finished with a combined .303 attacking percentage and held their opponents to just .075 hitting.

>> Washburn came out swinging in all three matches as it led in total kills, 126-80, and in kills per set, 14 to 8.9.

>> Chris Herron recorded his 600th career victory in the win over Central Oklahoma.

>> Allison Sadler and Genna Berg also reached a major milestone over the weekend. Sadler dished out her 2,000th career assists in the match against UCO and Berg knocked down her 1,000th career kill in the win over Newman.

>> Berg and Allison Maxwell led the offense as they both finished with 28 kills.

>> Faith Rottinghaus led the Ichabods in digs for the week with 49 total, Sadler had 87 assists. and Allison Maxwell was a part of 12 total blocks.



ICHABOD LEADERS IN THE MIAA … 

>> As a team, Washburn ranks in the top-three in many statistical categories.

>> The Ichabods lead the league in kills/set (14.38) and service aces/set (1.46).

>> They also lead in holding their opponents to the lowest average in assists/set (9.29), kills/set (10.23), digs/set (15.89), and the second-lowest opponent hitting percentage (.126).

>>  Several Ichabods are ranked in the top-10 throughout the conference statistics list.

>> Sadler leads the MIAA in assists/set, averaging 11.01.

>> Taylor Antonowich tops the conference list with 0.36 service aces/set.

>> Berg has the second-best kills/set average in the league with 3.73 and is sixth in aces/set with 0.31.

>> Maxwell is seventh in attacking percentage, hitting at a .301 clip. 

>> Gordon and Maxwell are both in the top-six for blocks, as Gordon is averaging 0.94 blocks/set while Maxwell is at 0.88/set for fourth and sixth, respectively.

>> Rottinghaus is third in digs/set with 5.40.



NATIONAL RANKS … 

>> Washburn volleyball has been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 Poll for the past 20-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 ninth in the nation in kills/set, 17th in opponent hitting percentage, 18th in digs/set, and 19th in assists/set.

>> Washburn is also tied for sixth in winning percentage (.917).

>> Sadler's assists/set average is the 17th-best in all of Division II.

>> Rottinghaus is currently 33rd in the nation in digs/set and Berg is 48th in kills/set.

>> Washburn has attracted 6,207 fans to Lee Arena this fall, which is the fourth-best 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 526-105 and is 250-61 in MIAA matches.

>> He earned his 600th collegiate career win after the 3-0 decision against Central Oklahoma last week. 

>> Herron has won 526 of those 600 matches since joining Washburn in 2002 after coaching three seasons at Benedictine.

>> Herron's career collegiate winning percentage of .818 is seventh-best among active Division II coaches and is 17th-best all-time in D-II.

>> Herron is 30-5 all-time coaching against Pittsburg State and is an undefeated 30-0 when facing Missouri Southern.



MILESTONE TRACKER … 

>> Berg is nine digs away from 800 in her career and Antonowich is 51 shy of 600 digs.

>> Montgomery is 57 kills away from becoming the 22nd player at Washburn to reach 1,000 kills.

>> Sydney Fitzgibbons needs 29 kills to hit 100.

>> Maxwell is eight total blocks from 300.

>> 19 more digs will give Rottinghaus 1700. She is also 104 away from becoming fourth all-time in digs in Washburn's record book.



SENIOR DAY - ERICA MONTGOMERY ...
>> The Washburn volleyball team has just one senior on the roster this season and will recognize the contributions of the four year team member and outside hitter Erica Montgomery before the match on Nov. 9.

>> The Salina, Kan., native has played in 116 matches and in 362 total sets. 

>> She is currently 23rd all-time in kills with 943 and has had three matches where she knocked down a career-high 22 kills.

>> She has made 117 total blocks and 379 digs.

>> Montgomery helped the Ichabods to the NCAA National Semifinal match last season and received several post season accolades as she was selected to the NCAA National Championship All-Tournament team, NCAA Central Region Championship All-Tournament team, and the all-MIAA first-team.

>> In 2017, she was named to the all-MIAA second-team.

>> Academically, she earned a spot on the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and was an MIAA Scholar Athlete in 2017 and 2018.




SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...

Pittsburg State Gorillas

>> The Pittsburg State Gorillas have lost three of their last four matches and are currently 12-13 (7-9 MIAA) and sixth in the conference standings. 

>>  The team has gone 2-5 in road matches this season.

>> Pittsburg State is currently hitting .178 while its opponents are hitting at a slightly higher rate of .185.

>> Stats-wise, the Gorillas are nearly even across the board with their opponents.

>> Erika Ivkov has recorded 274 kills on the year and is averaging 3.08 kills/set, which is .

>> Close behind is Morgan Henning, who has landed 249 kills and her .337 attacking percentage is the second-best in the MIAA.

>> Ivkov also leads the team in aces with 28 and has the second-most digs with 322.

>> The Gorillas have split time between two setters this season. Brianna Richard has a team-high 551 assists (6.12/set) and Laura Willoughby has dished out 388 assists (5.46/set).

>> Marissa Bates leads the team with 362 total digs and Emily Regier has 62 total blocks.

>>  Head coach Jen Gomez is in her fourth season leading PSU.

>>  The Ichabods lead the all-time series 67-21 and have won the 21-straight against the Gorillas.

Missouri Southern Lions

>> The Lions are currently at an even .500 with a record of 13-13. The team is also eighth in the MIAA standings at 6-10.

>> MSSU will play Emporia State on Friday evening before making the trek up to Topeka.

>>  Similar to the Gorillas, the Lions have also lost three of their last four matches, and have struggled on the road going 1-6.

>> As a team, Missouri Southern is hitting .160 and its opponents have a .177 attacking percentage.

>> The Lions have the most blocks in the MIAA (206.5) and the second-best blocks per set average in the league (2.00/set).

>> Janelle Brehm leads the offensive charge for the Lions with 321 kills and is sixth in the MIAA with 3.11 kills/set.

>> She also has the most digs on the team with 367.

>> Morgan Nash and Makenzie Fa'amausili-Cacoulidis have shared the role as setter and have made 463 and 443 assists, respectively.

>> Nash has landed a team-best 28 aces.

>> Defensively, Alicia Pickett has blocked a league-best 100 attempts this season and is averaging 1.05 blocks/set.

>> Alyssa Diaz is fifth in the MIAA in blocks/set with 0.77.

>> Kalie Mader is in her second season as the head coach of the Lions.

>> The Ichabods are 42-34 all-time against the Lions and have won the last 30-consecutive matches.


LAST TIME AGAINST THE GORILLAS ...

>> Washburn swept Pittsburg State (27-25, 25-20, 25-10) on Oct. 12, and finished with a .330 attacking percentage while holding the Gorillas to a 138. clip.

>>  The Ichabods led in kills, 47-35, and in digs, 54-46, as well as aces, 5-2.

>>  Berg led all players in kills as she knocked down 17 and was one dig shy of a double-double.

>>  Sadler dished out 33 assists and Rottinghaus had 14 digs.

>>  Berg and Gordon each recorded two solo blocks.

>>  For the Gorillas, Ivkov and Meg Auten both landed nine kills. 

>>  Ivkov also helped defensively as she and Bates each finished with 13 digs.


LAST TIME AGAINST THE LIONS ...

>> On Oct. 11, the Lions became the first of only two teams this season to take the Ichabods to five sets. Washburn prevailed, though, and won 3-2 (17-25, 25-12, 22-25, 25-20, 15-12).

>> The Ichabods had a .186 attacking percentage while the Lions were held to .083 hitting.

>> Missouri Southern held a slight advantage in aces, 7-6, while Washburn won the block battle, 12-10.

>> Gordon (17) and Berg (15) finished with double-figure kills for WU and Morgan Nash (12) and CC Pollard (10) led MSSU.

>> Rottinghaus had 23 digs and Berg added a double-double to her stat line with her 14 digs.

>> Sadler made 52 assists and Nash led the Lions with 22 assists and chipped in three aces.