TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 3 Washburn volleyball is set for its final road trip of the regular season as the Ichabods take on Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern this weekend. First serve in Pittsburg is set for 6 p.m. on Friday and the Saturday match in Joplin is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.
FIRST SERVE …
>> The Ichabods have won their last three matches in 3-0 fashion and hold a record of 22-3 (14-2 MIAA).
>> The Gorillas are coming off a three set loss against No. 2 Central Missouri and are now 13-11 (7-9 MIAA). PSU has done well at home this year with an 8-2 record.
>> The Lions have struggled this season and have now lost 19 in a row after falling at No. 5 Northwest Missouri on Wednesday evening. MSSU is 3-23 (0-16 MIAA) and is also winless at home this year.
>> In Lee Arena earlier this season, Washburn defeated Missouri Southern in four sets and then swept Pittsburg State.
>> The Ichabods are 7-1 in true road matches this season.
QUICK HITS …
>> This season, Washburn has gone 8-1 on Friday matches and 9-1 on Saturdays.
>> As a team, Washburn leads the MIAA in eight of its 12 statistical categories and is ranked in the top-three nationally in kills per set (15.22 kills/set - first in DII), assists per set (13.71 assists/set - second in DII), and hitting percentage (.299 percent - third in DII).
>> The Ichabods also hold their opponents to a conference-low .136 hitting percentage as well as the lowest in opponent assists (9.67 assists/set), kills (10.72 kills/set), service aces (0.79 aces/set), and blocks (1.41 blocks/set).
>> Allison Maxwell (.441) and Sydney Fitzgibbons (.421) are the only two hitters in the MIAA who currently hold an attacking percentage above .400. The next closest hitter is Anna Squiers from Nebraska-Kearney who is hitting .377 on the year.
>> WU has clinched a place in the MIAA Tournament and is currently one match behind Central Missouri's 15-1 conference record. The Ichabods also have a one match lead on Northwest Missouri (13-3 MIAA).
>> Eight teams will earn a berth in the MIAA Tournament and the quarterfinal matches will be played at the campuses of the top-four seeded teams. The semifinals and championship will be held at the highest remaining seed.
COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 20th year leading Washburn and holds a record of 553-110 (.834) while going 268-63 in MIAA play.
>> Herron has led Washburn to five MIAA titles and 15 trips to the NCAA Tournament since taking over the program.
>> He has coached at least one All-American in every year but 2002 and 2017 season.
>> Against Pittsburg State, he is 30-5.
>> Herron has never lost when coaching against Missouri Southern and holds a perfect 30-0 record.
>> In three set matches, his teams have gone 370-42.
IN THE RANKINGS …
>> The Ichabods moved back up one spot to No. 3 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.
>> Washburn has been ranked in the top-five in 24 of the last 25 official polls (excluding the 2021 spring season), dating back to the final rankings of 2018. The Ichabods were ranked No. 8 in this fall's preseason poll.
>> Washburn was atop the AVCA national poll for four weeks and prior to this season, WU had never been ranked No. 1 before.
>> Washburn held down the No. 2 spot for the first three weeks of the 2008 season and then again in the seventh week during the 2010 season.
>> The MIAA continues to be well-represented in the nationall poll as Central Missouri checks in at No. 2, Northwest Missouri is No. 4, and Nebraska-Kearney is No. 15.
>> The first edition of the NCAA regional rankings were released on Wednesday, Nov. 3 with Washburn checking in at fourth on the list. Eight of the top-10 teams in the final Central Region rankings will advance to the NCAA Tournament.
>> The NCAA Central Region is always tough and this year is no different. Out of the 10 Central Region teams in the Regional Poll, nine are ranked in the top-15 in the AVCA National Poll.
LAST TIME OUT …
>> Washburn swept all three road matches last week at Emporia State, Central Oklahoma, and Newman.
>> The Ichabods won at UCO by the set scores of 25-16, 25-18, and 25-20.
>> At Newman, WU won 28-26, 25-16, and 25-17. The Ichabods trailed 19-14 in the first set and then 21-18 when they rallied to knot up the score at 21 through 26 before winning the final two points.
>> Over the course of those three matches, the Ichabods hit .278 and held their opponents to a .110 clip while WU led in kills, 140-95.
>> Genna Berg had back-to-back matches with double-doubles as she had 14 kills at UCO and NU and added 12 digs against the Bronchos and 10 versus the Jets.
>> In the match against Central Oklahoma, four Ichabods finished with double-digit dig totals.
>> Three Washburn players had double-figure kills against the Jets.
TEAM LEADERS …
>> Genna Berg: Leads the team with 308 kills and is second in the MIAA with 3.62 kills per set. She has also made 49 blocks and tallied 136 digs and is second on the team with five double-doubles.
>> Allison Maxwell: Has recorded eight or more kills in 23 of 25 matches played. She is fouth in the nation with a .441 hitting percentage. She is also second in the conference with 1.12 blocks per set and 3.18 kills per set ranks eighth in the league.
>> Faith Rottinghaus: Averages 6.64 digs per set (third in Division II) and has 564 total digs (sixth in Division II). She has just two reception errors in 275 total attempts for a .993 reception percentage. Her last error occurred on Sept. 4 against Northern State.
>> Kelsey Gordon: Is third on the team with 203 kills and sixth in the MIAA with a .339 hitting percentage. She has nine double-digit kill matches on the season as well as 19 multi-block matches.
>> Jalyn Stevenson: Has tallied 180 kills on the year. She leads the team with 24 service aces.
>> Allison Sadler: Leads the team with seven double-doubles as she averages 10.60 assists per set (third in the MIAA) and is second on the team with 200 digs. She did a little of everything in the UCO match, finishing with 41 assists, 11 digs, three blocks, two kills, and an ace.
>> Sydney Fitzgibbons: Is second in the conference and eighth in the nation with a .421 attacking percentage. She has hit .400 or better in 17 matches this fall and has not committed more than three errors in any match this season. She hit .435 against Newman with 11 kills.
>> Taylor Antonowich: Is third on the team with 178 digs. She registered seven kills and 10 digs at UCO.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Berg will pass Dani McHenry and move up to No. 7 on the all-time kills list in 69 more kills.
>> Stevenson needs 20 kills and 31 more digs to reach 200 in both categories this season.
>> Gordon needs 48 more kills to eclipse 700 total.
>> Rottinghaus is second on the program's all-time career digs list with 2,407 in her time as an Ichabod. She needs 58 to surpass Erica Cowhick, who holds the program's record with 2,464.
>> She is also nine service aces away from 100 in her career.
>> Antonowich is 15 digs shy of 800 career digs.
>> This has been the season for Washburn milestones as Maxwell surpassed 1,000 career kills and also 400 total blocks (fifth player in program history to do so), Berg went over 1,000 career digs (the 10th WU player to have 1,000 career kills and digs), Sadler eclipsed 3,000 career assists, and Rottinghaus passed 2,000 career digs.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Pittsburg State Gorillas
>> The Gorillas are currently sixth in the MIAA standings with a record of 7-9 and hold an overall mark of 13-11 this year.
>> The team is hitting .205 and averages 12.98 kills per set. They also have a conference-leading 1.71 service aces per set with three players in the top-10 in the MIAA.
>> Meg Auten leads the Gorillas' offense as she averages 3.46 kills per set, which is good for fourth in the conference. She also is second on the team with 2.70 digs per set.
>> Hope White contributes 2.41 kills per set and has a team-best 45 total blocks that includes 27 solo stops.
>> In the back row, Marissa Bates averages 4.49 digs per set and has received 268 out of 277 service attempts for a .968 reception percentage.
>> Brianna Richard is fourth in the MIAA with 10.21 assists per set. She leads the team with 26 service aces and has also landed 50 kills.
>> Jen Gomez is in her sixth year leading Pittsburg State.
>> Former Washburn volleyball graduate assistant, Miranda Rodriguez (2018-20), is in her second year as the assistant coach for the Gorillas.
>> The Ichabods have won the last 24 meetings against the Gorillas with the last six in row being 3-0 sweeps.
>> These two programs have met 91 times and Washburn holds a 70-21 series advantage. WU is also 24-9 when playing in Pittsburg.
Missouri Southern Lions
>> The Lions are looking for their first conference win as they are last in the league standings at 0-16. Overall this season, they are 3-23.
>> Missouri Southern will take on Emporia State on Friday evening before facing Washburn on Saturday.
>> This year's squad averages 9.6 kills per set and has a .115 hitting percentage.
>> Armyni Perales leads the team with 169 total kills and 2.28 kills per set. She also has 32 total blocks.
>> Brooklyn McCain leads the team with 321 digs (3.65 digs/set) and is also tied for the team lead with 19 service aces.
>> Kalie Mader is in her fourth year as head coach of the Lions.
>> Washburn has won 32 in a row against Missouri Southern and leads the all-time series, 44-34.
>> When playing the Lions in Joplin, Washburn is 18-10.
LAST TIME AGAINST ...
Pittsburg State Gorillas
>> Washburn won in straight-sets on Oct. 9 by the scores of 25-14, 25-18, and 25-17.
>> The Ichabods hit .252 and held the Gorillas to a .096 clip.
>> Auten had a team-high eight kills and also scooped up 11 digs.
>> Maxwell had a .480 attacking percentage and led Washburn with 15 kills and four blocks.
>> Sadler had a double-double with 38 assists and 13 digs.
Missouri Southern Lions
>> The Ichabods won by the set scores of 25-8, 25-8, 22-25, and 25-14 on Oct. 8.
>> Washburn hit .374 in the match while Missouri Southern finished where it started at .000. The Ichabods also led in kills, 61-21.
>> The Lions were led by Irina Alekseeva's seven kills.
>> Berg paced the Ichabods with 18 kills and committed just two errors to close out the match with a .571 attacking percentage. She also added seven digs.
>> Maxwell hit .478 with a dozen kills and made five blocks.
2021 SQUAD …
>> There are 13 Ichabods returning from the 2019 squad and they lost just two letterwinners from that team.
>> Ten seniors will take the court for their final season and are joined by two juniors, two sophomores, and one redshirts freshman.
>> Washburn added four freshmen in 2020 and three more for this fall.
>> Two transfer student-athletes also join the team in Jaycee Burghart (Cloud County CC) and Payton Nutter (Concordia-St. Paul).
2019 & 2020 SEASON REWIND …
>> In 2019, Washburn completed its second-straight season ranked as a top-five team in the AVCA national final rankings as the Ichabods checked in at No. 5 in all of Division II.
>> The team finished the season 27-4 and 18-2 in MIAA matches with their only two losses of the regular season coming against Nebraska-Kearney.
>> Washburn started the season undefeated through nine matches while only suffering one set loss amid eight 3-0 sweep victories.
>> The Ichabods were awarded the No. 2 seed in the MIAA Tournament and swept their quarterfinal game against Pittsburg State before falling in five to Central Missouri in the semifinal.
>> Washburn earned its 15th trip to the NCAA Tournament and was tabbed as the six-seed in the Central Region and played against the three-seed and No. 3 nationally-ranked Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears in the quarterfinals.
>> CSP won sets one and three and WU claimed sets two and four to send it to the deciding fifth, which the Golden Bears won 15-8 ultimately ending the Ichabods' season.
>> Although the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MIAA teams agreed to a shortened conference-only schedule in the spring of 2021 to have the opportunity to compete.
>> Official statistics were not kept, but the competition level remained high and the Ichabods finished with a mark of 14-5 and recorded 11 sweep victories.
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> Washburn returns home for the final two matches of the regular season, taking on Missouri Western on Nov. 12 before another battle against Northwest Missouri on Senior Night on Nov. 13.
