FIRST SERVE …
>> No. 5 Washburn volleyball is looking to bounce back after dropping its first loss of the season last weekend as the Ichabods travel to take on long-time rival Emporia State on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The match is slated to begin at 6 p.m. at White Auditorium.
QUICK HITS …
>> The rivalry between Washburn and Emporia State is one of the longest in Ichabod volleyball history. The two teams met three times in 1969, Washburn's inaugural season, and have faced each other a total of 120 times.
>> Washburn defeated Emporia State all three times they played last season, including a 3-0 win at White Auditorium.
>> The Ichabods are 14-27 all-time when playing at Emporia.
>> Washburn head coach Chris Herron is 30-7 against the Hornets since taking over the reins in 2002.
>> In MIAA matches, Herron holds a record of 237-60.
LAST TIME OUT …
>> The Ichabods were handed their first loss of the season as they went 1-1 at home in the conference opening weekend.
>> Washburn swept past Fort Hays State by the scores of 25-18, 26-24, and 25-16.
>> The Ichabods finished with a .259 hitting percentage while the Tigers hit .190 percent.
>> Kelsey Gordon led the team with 13 kills and Taylor Antonowich had four service aces.
>> Allison Sadler posted her third double-double of the season with 37 assists and 13 digs.
>> The following day, No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney won the top-10 showdown with a 3-0 victory over No. 3 Washburn.
>> The Ichabods were held to their lowest hitting percentage of the season at .120 while the Lopers finished at a .276 clip.
>> Allison Maxwell had a team-best 11 kills and Faith Rottinghaus finished with 19 digs.
ICHABOD LEADERS IN THE MIAA …
>> Washburn is in the top-five teams in the conference for every statistical category.
>> The Ichabods lead the MIAA in kills/set (14.10), blocks/set (1.97), and in service aces average (1.71/set).
>> The team is also second in assists/set average (12.74), third in hitting percentage (.240), and fifth in digs/set (16.71).
>> They are also second in opponent hitting percentage (.113), opponent assists/set (9.00), opponent kills/set (9.94), opponent aces and aces/set (18, 0.58), and opponent digs/set (14.39).
>> Gordon leads the conference with a .392 attacking percentage. She has 87 total kills on 171 swings with 20 errors.
>> Maxwell is 10th in the conference with a .304 hitting percentage.
>> Gordon and Maxwell join teammate Genna Berg in the top-15 in kills by players in the conference. Berg is sixth on the list with 102 kills, Maxwell is eighth with 94, and Gordon is just outside the top-10 at No. 11 with 87 kills.
>> Setter Sadler has the best assists per set average in the league with a 10.97 mark.
>> Antonowich has 15 service aces on the year and leads the MIAA with a 0.48 service aces per set average.
>> Rottinghaus is third in digs/set with a 5.16 mark and 160 total digs.
>> Maxwell and Gordon are back-to-back in the top-10 list for blocking percentage at sixth and seventh, respectively. They are both averaging 0.87 blocks per set while Maxwell has 27 total blocks and Gordon has just one less at 26.
BY THE NUMBERS …
.240 : Hitting percentage by the Ichabods.
.113 : Hitting percentage by Washburn opponents.
53 : Service aces the Ichabods have landed while their opponents this season have only combined for 18 total aces.
8 : Washburn victories that have been 3-0 sweeps.
19 : Digs Rottinghaus needs to move up to 13th in the Washburn all-time record books.
7 : Kills by Sydney Fitzgibbons, a career-high, in the match against Fort Hays.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Gordon is 16 kills shy of 300 for her career.
>> Maxwell is seven away from reaching 700 career kills.
>> Berg and Erica Montgomery both reached the 800 career kill mark this past week. Berg is now at 806 while Montgomery is at an even 800.
>> Antonowich surpassed 200 careers kills in the match against Nebraska-Kearney and needs just two more to hit 50 kills for this season.
>> Herron has won 588 matches as a collegiate head coach (combined record between Washburn and Benedictine) and is 22 victories away from 600.
>> The Ichabods have won 696 matches since joining the NCAA and need just four more wins to reach 700.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Emporia State Hornets
>> The Hornets went 14-18 (8-10 MIAA) last season and last faced Washburn in the MIAA Tournament quarterfinal match, which the Ichabods won 3-0.
>> Emporia was picked eighth in the 2019 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and are currently 4-6 (0-2 MIAA) after suffering a 3-0 sweep to No. 6 Nebraska Kearney and a 3-2 loss to Fort Hays State over the weekend.
>> Yuchen Du leads the team with 113 kills and has added 21 total blocks, including four solo stops.
>> Aliyah Bernard is fourth in the MIAA in attacking percentage at .345. She has recorded 96 total kills on 220 attempts and 20 errors.
>> Bernard also leads the team in total blocks with 31.
>> Setter Emma Dixon is up to 345 assists on the year with an 8.85 assists/set average, the sixth-best average in the conference.
>> Defensively, Shelby Innes leads the team with 164 digs and averages 4.10 dig/set.
>> Bing Xu is in his 15th season as head coach of the Hornets and holds a record of 271-157 (137-94 MIAA).
>> Although the Hornets lead the all-time series 76-44, the Ichabods have won 19 of the last 20 meetings including the last four consecutive matches.
