TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 4-ranked Washburn volleyball looks to continue its winning streak with four matches this week at the Mountain Lion Invitational, hosted by Colorado-Colorado Springs.
FIRST SERVE …
>> On Friday (Sept. 10), the Ichabods will face Lone Star Conference schools Lubbock Christian (9 a.m. CT) and Texas A&M International (6 p.m. CT) before wrapping up the tournament on Saturday against William Jewell (10 a.m. CT) and No. 15 Colorado School of Mines (5:30 p.m. CT).
>> Washburn is undefeated to start the season after picking up five wins on its home court last week.
MOUNTAIN LION INVITATIONAL …
>> Fan are welcome to attend and can purchase tickets on site. Ticket information can be found here.
>> Every match in the tournament will be live streamed and have live stats.
>> Those in attendance will also be required to wear masks indoors on campus.
>> The six team tournament will feature representatives from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Lone Star Conference, Great Lakes Valley Conference, and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
QUICK HITS …
>> After its win last week, Washburn is now 37-15 all-time in season openers and 25-6 since joining the NCAA and MIAA in 1989.
>> Washburn held three of its five opponents to a negative hitting percentage and after the opening week, opponents are hitting .097 against the Ichabods.
>> The Ichabods currently hold a .367 attacking percentage and set the program record for the highest attacking percentage in a single match after they hit a scorching .512 against Minot State.
>> Washburn's serving game landed 32 aces last week while opponents only had 11.
>> WU outscored its opponents, 424-261, last week.
>> Washburn has played eight tournaments in Colorado since Coach Herron took over the program in 2002. During that time, Washburn has gone 27-5 in tournaments played in the Centennial State.
IN THE RANKINGS …
>> The Ichabods moved up four places in the most recent AVCA rankings after their 5-0 week.
>> Four of the top-10 teams in the latest AVCA poll are in the MIAA.
>> Washburn willl face its third opponent ranked in the top-20, taking on No. 15 Colorado School of Mines on Saturday.
>> Last 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 OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK …
>> Genna Berg was named the MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week after leading the Ichabods in kills in four of their five victories last week, finishing the opening week with 61 kills, 3.59 kills/set and a .343 attacking percentage.
>> She also contributed 24 digs, six service aces, and six blocks.
>> In the win over No. 15 Northern State, Berg finished with 19 kills.
>> This marks the fourth time in Berg's career that she has earned the weekly conference honor.
LAST TIME OUT …
>> After opening the season with a sweep over Cameron, the Ichabods played four matches in the Washburn Invitational.
>> Washburn defeated Colorado-Colorado Springs 3-1, swept No. 19-ranked Harding and Minot State, before closing out the tournament with a 3-1 win over No. 15 Northern State.
>> The Ichabods won the first two sets against Northern State and spoiled the Wolves' game point to even the score at 25-all in the third before NSU won the next three points to win, 27-25, and make it a 2-1 match.
>> Washburn trailed early in the fourth, but a 4-0 scoring run gave the Ichabods a lead they held for the remainder of the frame. The Ichabods won the final set 25-20 on a kill from Berg.
>> Berg was named the tournament MVP and Faith Rottinghaus, Allison Maxwell, and Kelsey Gordon were all named to the all-tournament team.
TEAM LEADERS …
>> Berg : Leads the team with 61 kills and is third on the team with six service aces.
>> Maxwell : Made 17 total blocks and five solo stops at the net while also hammering down 50 kills. In the first four games, hit above .438 with eight or more kills and three total errors. Currently sitting at a .466 attacking percentage.
>> Rottinghaus : Landed eight service aces and scooped up 88 digs (5.18 digs/set).
>> Gordon : Is third on the team with 37 kills and second in blocks with 12 overall.
>> Jalyn Stevenson : The true freshman made her first career start against Northern State and knocked down nine kills and three aces. She finished the week with 28 kills, seven aces, 45 receptions, and 13 digs.
>> Allison Sadler : Set up 114 assists (7.12 assists/set) and had 36 digs and three aces. Recorded a double-double in the season opener with 18 assists, 12 digs.
>> Payton Nutter : Split setter duty with Sadler and started against Minot State and Northern State. Finished the week with 62 assists 16 digs.
>> Sydney Fitzgibbons : Had 11 big kills against Northern State and closed out the week with a .447 attacking percentage and 26 kills.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Rottinghaus is 69 digs away from 2,000 in her career. Washburn's all-time record for digs is 2,464 which was set by Erica Cowhick (2004-07).
>> Maxwell needs 57 more kills to reach 1,000 and become the 23rd Washburn player to achieve the milestone.
>> Maxwell is nearing another record as she needs 64 more total blocks to be one of five players in Washburn's history to record 1,000 kills and 400 total blocks.
>> In 87 more digs, Berg will enter Washburn's history books as the 10th player to have 1,000 career kills and digs.
>> Gordon is 14 kills away from 500 in her career.
>> Sydney Fitzgibbons needs just one kill to hit the century mark.
>> Sadler is 45 assists away from 2,500 in her career, which will move her up to sixth all-time in Washburn's record books.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps
>> The Lady Chaps are 3-1 to start the season with three shutout victories.
>> The team was voted 14th after going 3-10 in the spring 2021 season.
>> LCU has a young look to its roster with 11 of its 17 players being underclassmen.
>> Freshman Aaliyah Gray is off to a solid start with 38 kills and eight blocks in four matches.
>> Hannah Froeschl is right behind with 37 kills on the year and is tied for a team-best 14 blocks.
>> Setter Jalee Sims is averaging 6.71 assists per set and has added 44 digs and 11 kills.
>> Keith Giboney is in his first season as the head coach for the Lady Chaps after 13 seasons at Harding and three at the University of Alabama Huntsville.
>> These two teams have faced only one other time back on Sept. 7, 2018, with Washburn picking up the 3-0 win.
Texas A&M International Dustdevils
>> TAMIU is 0-4 after opening the season in Alaska at the Seawolf Invitational.
>> The team finished the 2019 season 6-19 (1-9 LSC) and played in the spring of 2021, going 6-11 (4-8 LSC). They were picked 11th in the conference preseason poll.
>> The Dustdevils are a mostly veteran team with eight seniors and two graduate students.
>> Mackenzie Catalina recorded 19 kills against Biola and 13 against Alaska Fairbanks.
>> Brittany Harry was named the head coach in January of 2020.
>> Washburn has swept both matches against the Dustdevils and held them under 16 points in 2011 and 2014.
William Jewell Cardinals
>> William Jewell went 3-1 at the Washburn Invitational, picking up wins over Cameron, Colorado-Colorado Springs, and Minot State.
>> The Cardinals went 11-21 during the 2019 campaign and 1-19 in the spring 2021 season.
>> Lilly Johnson was named to the Washburn Invitational All-Tournament team after finishing with 37 kills and 11 total blocks, including three solo stops.
>> Jordan Collard led the team with 60 digs (3.75 digs/set).
>> Hannah Cope and Samantha Thompson split setter duty and finished with 70 and 65 assists, respectively.
>> Carolyn (Raynes) Beck is beginning her eighth season leading the Cardinals. Beck played for Coach Herron and Washburn 2005-08.
>> Washburn leads the all-time series against William Jewell, 8-1, and is on a seven-match winning streak. The Ichabods last defeated the Cardinals in 2019 with a 3-0 victory at home.
Colorado School of Mines Orediggers
>> The Colorado School of Mines is 3-1 after posting wins over Seattle Pacific, Midwestern State, and Grand Valley State while falling only to Southwest Minnesota State.
>> In 2019, the Orediggers finished with a record of 25-7 (13-5 RMAC) and reached the NCAA South Central Region Tournament final before falling to Regis in straight sets.
>> The team returned five of their six 2019 all-RMAC selections and the team was picked third in the RMAC preseason poll and are currently ranked 15th in the nation.
>> Taylor Hicken, who received all-RMAC first team honors in 2019, was named the RMAC Offensive Player of the Week after hitting .468 with 47 kills to go with four service aces and seven blocks during the opening weekend.
>> Also earning conference Player of the Week honors was Drew Stokes in the setter position. She recorded 164 assists, 22 digs, 13 kills, seven blocks, and five service aces.
>> Jamie Magalei is entering her 14th season at the helm for the Orediggers and holds an overall record of 292-98.
>> Washburn has won both meetings against Colorado Mines with a 3-2 decision in 2005 and a sweep in 2008.
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 …
>> The Ichabods begin conference play on the road next week, starting at Fort Hays State (Sept. 17) and Nebraska-Kearney (Sept. 18).
