TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 1 Washburn volleyball closes out the first month of the season with a top-10 battle at No. 7 Central Missouri on Saturday, Sept. 25. First serve in the Multipurpose Building is slated for 6 p.m.

FIRST SERVE …
>> The Ichabods won their seventh sweep of the season on Tuesday night against Emporia State to improve to 11-1 (3-0 MIAA).
>> The Jennies also have an unblemished record in conference play coming off a 3-1 win at Emporia State on Thursday to improve to 10-1 (3-0 MIAA).
>> These two teams met three times in 2019 with Washburn winning the two regular season matches before falling in five to Central Missouri in the MIAA Tournament semifinal.
>> Although the 2021 spring season did not officially count or have statistics, the teams met in Warrensburg on March 13 and the Ichabods won, 3-1, by the set scores of 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, and 26-24.

QUICK HITS …
>> As a team, the Ichabods lead the conference in hitting percentage (.322 - third nationally), assists (13.37 assists/set - ninth nationally), kills (14.71 kills/set - sixth nationally), and blocks (2.43 blocks/set - 15th nationally).
>> Seven of Washburn's 11 wins have been sweeps.
>> This season, the Ichabods have held five of their opponents to a hitting percentage below .100, including three that finished in the negative.
>> Allison Maxwell, Sydney Fitzgibbons, and Kelsey Gordon are three of the top-four players in the conference for hitting percentage.
>> Since Chris Herron took over the program in 2002, Washburn is now 4-4 when playing the No. 1 ranked team in the country.
>> The Ichabods have won their last two matches against No. 1 ranked opponents, both coming against the Lopers (Sept. 15, 2018 and Sept. 18, 2021).
>> Herron is 80-78 when playing teams ranked in the top-25.
>> Against Central Missouri, Herron is 18-22 and the Jennies have been ranked in the top-25 for all of those matches.

IN THE RANKINGS …
>> The Ichabods moved up two places in the most recent AVCA rankings to become the No. 1 team in the nation.
>> Prior to this week's rankings, the highest Washburn had been ranked was No. 2 on four occasions.
>> 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.
>> Four of the top-15 teams in the latest AVCA poll are from the MIAA: Nebraska-Kearney is No. 4, Central Missouri is No. 7, and Northwest Missouri is No. 13. Central Oklahoma received votes in the poll.
>> Washburn is already 3-1 against opponents ranked in the top-20 so far this season.
>> During the 2019 season, the Ichabods faced a tough schedule and went 4-4 against opponents ranked in the top-25. Six of those opponents were ranked in the top-10.

MIAA ATHLETES OF THE WEEK SWEEP …
>> The Ichabods swept the MIAA Athlete of the Week awards on Monday by seniors Allison Sadler, Faith Rottinghaus, and Maxwell.
>> Sadler was named the MIAA Setter of the Week after she averaged 12.86 assists per set and finished the weekend with 90 total assists and zero errors for a .415 setting percentage. In the win at Nebraska-Kearney, she recorded a double-double with 58 assists and 12 digs to go with three assisted blocks and a service ace.
>> For the second-straight week, libero Rottinghaus was named the MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week. She averaged 6.86 digs per set last week, scooping up 20 digs at Fort Hays State and then adding 28 in the win over UNK.
>> She also successfully passed all 24 service attempts that came her way for a perfect receiving percentage.
>> Maxwell helped power the Ichabods in their two wins as she averaged 3.29 kills per set and finished the weekend with 23 kills on 40 attempts with just three errors for a scorching .500 attacking percentage. She registered 13 kills and hit .458 in the four set win at UNK and became the 23rd Washburn player to eclipse 1,000 career kills.
>> Maxwell also made 12 total blocks combined in the two matches, including two solo stops.

LAST TIME OUT …
>> Washburn won the volleyball edition of the Turnpike Tussle on Tuesday evening with a shutout over Emporia State.
>> The Ichabods jumped out to a 14-3 advantage in the first set with an 11-1 scoring run. Washburn went on to win the game, 25-18.
>> Emporia State led 5-4 in the second set before Maxwell sparked a 4-0 run to give Washburn a lead it would hold for the remainder of the set. The Ichabods won the game by 10 points, 25-15.
>> The Hornets captured the first point yet again in the third, but their initial lead was short lived as the Ichabods rattled off seven-consecutive points and then five more in a row to go in front, 12-2. Washburn held on and won the last four points to finish off the sweep with another 25-15 decision.
>> All 19 available Ichabods played in the match. Maxwell had a stellar night, knocking down 13 kills on 15 attempts with just two errors for a sizzling .733 hitting percentage. She also was a part of five blocks at the net.
>> Genna Berg had nine kills and finished with a .381 attacking percentage.
>> Jalyn Stevenson also had nine kills to go with seven digs and two service aces.

TEAM LEADERS …
>> Berg: Leads the team with 148 kills (3.61/set) and has had double-figure kills in nine matches played.
>> Maxwell: Is second in the nation with a .483 attacking percentage. She has hammered down 120 kills (2.93 kills/set) and leads the league with 51 total blocks.
>> Rottinghaus: Averages 5.49 digs/set, which ranks second in the MIAA and 21st in Division II, and leads the MIAA with 225 total digs. She has also landed a team-high 17 service aces.
>> Gordon: Is third on the team with 95 kills and second in blocks with 38 overall, including seven solo blocks.
>> Stevenson: Has tallied 83 kills on the year and averages 2.18 kills/set. She is second on the team with 13 service aces.
>> Sadler: Averages 8.48 assists per set and is second on the team with 77 digs.
>> Fitzgibbons: Is hitting .427 on the season and averages 2.06 kills per set. She has also made 26 total blocks.

MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Maxwell needs 30 more total blocks to be one of five players in Washburn's history to record 1,000 kills and 400 total blocks.
>> In 44 more digs, Berg will enter Washburn's history books as the 10th player to have 1,000 career kills and digs.
>> Gordon is 56 kills away from 600 in her career.
>> Rottinghaus will move up to second on the all-time career digs list in 25 more digs. She currently has 2,068  digs in her time as an Ichabod.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Central Missouri Jennies
>> The Jennies went 23-10 (15-5 MIAA) in 2019 and reached the NCAA Central Region Tournament before falling to Minnesota Duluth in the first round.
>> UCM has faced a tough schedule to start the 2021 campaign, as Washburn will be the fifth top-25 ranked opponent they've played. The Jennies are 3-1 against ranked teams this season with their sole loss coming to then-ranked No. 20 Metro State.
>> As a team, the Jennies have limited their opponents to a league-low hitting percentage (.110).
>> Audrey Fisher is third in the conference right a .362 hitting percentage and has recorded 121 kills (3.27 kills/set).
>> Kersti Nix averaged 3.35 kills per set and Hannah Engelken contributes 2.59 kills per set while also leading the MIAA with 1.27 blocks per set.
>> Setter Ally Offerdahl averages 10.27 assists per set, ranking third in the conference.
>> Flip Piontek is in his 13th season as the Jennies' head coach and is beginning his 36th year overall with the program. As the head coach, Piontek holds a career 303-74 record.
>> The Jennies lead the all-time series, 54-19. The Ichabods, however, have won the last two matches in the Multipurpose Building with the most recent coming on Nov. 16, 2019 with a come-from-behind five set thrilling victory after they trailed 2-0.

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 begins a five match homestand on Friday, Oct. 1, hosting Newman. First serve in Lee Arena is set for 6 p.m.