TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 10-ranked Washburn volleyball team looks to add to its five-match winning streak as the Ichabods head to Maryville, Mo. for a top-15 showdown at No. 15 Northwest Missouri on Friday evening.

FIRST SERVE …
>> Washburn improved its record to 17-3 (9-3 MIAA) after defeating Fort Hays State on Tuesday.
>> The Bearcats are 14-5 (8-3 MIAA) and are coming off a four-set win over No. 25 Central Missouri on Tuesday.

QUICK HITS …
>> The Ichabods look to break a four-match losing streak to the Bearcats as NWMSU won all three matchups last year and defeated Washburn on its home court back on Sept. 17.
>> Northwest Missouri has won all three matches it has played at home this fall.
>> In the points by set breakdown for Washburn this season, the Ichabods have outscored opponents, 1748-1480.
>> Washburn has limited opponents to hitting below .150 in nine matches, with four below .090.

ROAD WARRIORS …
>> Washburn has played 75 percent of its matches this year away from the friendly confines of Lee Arena, but still have gone a combined 13-2 between neutral site and true road matches.
>> In the 15 road matches, Washburn is hitting .236 compared to its opponents' .160 and have almost 100 more kills than the opposition, 731-636.
>> Jalyn Stevenson has recorded 154 of her 209 kills on the road and 20 of her 22 service aces.
>> Halle Meister is hitting .413 on the road with 125 kills and 37 blocks.

WASHBURN AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS …
>> The Ichabods posted two wins last week against opponents ranked in the top-25 ... so far, WU has gone 3-1 against ranked opponents
>> Two of those victories have come against Nebraska-Kearney when it was ranked No. 7 and No. 5.
>> Head Coach Chris Herron has faced tough competition in 21 seasons and is 89-84 against ranked opponents.
>> Herron is 2-3 against Northwest Missouri when the Bearcats are ranked ... all three of those losses occurred last year.
>> WU went 9-6 against nationally ranked opponents last year.

MIAA DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK …
>> Sophie McMullen was named the MIAA Defensive Athlete of the Week on Monday, Oct. 10.
>> In three matches last week, she led the Ichabod defense with 5.50 digs per set and added two double-doubles.
>> In the five-set win at previously ranked No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney, she led all players in the match with a season-high 24 digs.
>> For the second-straight match, she led all players with 21 digs in the 3-1 win over Missouri Western and added 10 kills and four aces.
>> In the sweep over then-No. 23 Central Missouri, she led the WU offense with a season-high 15 kills and chipped in 21 digs ... in the third set, she finished strong hitting .455 with seven kills and seven digs.
>> She closed out the week with 66 digs, 27 kills, and a team-best seven aces.

MIAA STANDINGS …
>> The top-four teams in the MIAA standings are neck-and-neck with Nebraska-Kearney leading the way with a 10-2 conference mark.
>> Central Oklahoma (9-2 MIAA) is right behind in second .
>> Washburn is currently third with a 9-3 conference record.
>> Northwest Missouri holds an 8-3 record and is currently fourth.
>> The top-eight teams will compete in the MIAA Tournament which will take place in St. Joseph, Mo. at the Civic Arena, Nov. 10-12.

LAST TIME OUT …
>> Washburn defeated Fort Hays State, 3-1, Tuesday in Hays by the set scores of 24-26, 25-18, 25-18, and 25-20.
>> Washburn finished the night hitting .169 and held Fort Hays State to an .056 attacking percentage.
>> The Ichabods led in kills, 55-39, and in digs, 85-67, while the Tigers dominated at the net defensively and out-blocked WU, 20-11.
>> S. McMullen recorded her third-consecutive double-double as she led all players with 13 kills and added a team-best 22 digs.
>> Meister chipped in 10 kills and hit .300.
>> Stevenson had nine kills, 12 digs, and landed three aces.
>> Corinna McMullen registered her seventh double-double as she had 27 assists and 14 digs.

TEAM LEADERS …
>> As a team, the Ichabods rank fourth among MIAA programs in hitting percentage (.228) and kills per set (13.63 kps).
>> Jalyn Stevenson: leads the team with a 209 kills for a .290 kills per set average to go with 2.60 digs per set and 22 service aces. She has registered 10 double-figure kill matches and had nine double-digit dig performances ... she's totaled five double-doubles.
>> Halle Meister: is on a three-match streak with double-figure kills and has racked up 178 on the year and holds a .368 attacking percentage, which ranks second in the MIAA. She also has made a team-high 55 total blocks.
>> Kealy Kiviniemi: the freshman outside hitter has 139 kills and is hitting just below .300 with a .298 attacking percentage.
>> Austin Broadie: has made nine starts and tallied 127 kills and 35 total blocks.
>> Kassidy Pfeiffer: has recorded at least one kill in each of the 19 matches she's played. She holds a .320 attacking percentage (seventh in the MIAA) with 82 kills and 54 blocks.
>> Sydney Pullen: leads the team with 322 total digs (4.35 digs per set/eighth in MIAA) ... she also has recorded 57 assists and 13 aces.
>> Sophie McMullen: contributes in all areas for the team as she has a conference-best 37 service aces, has scooped up 277 digs (3.79 digs per set/second on team), and has contributed 87 kills (fifth on team) in 73 sets ... Friday's match will be her first trip back to Maryville since transferring from the Bearcats after four seasons with them. Last season at Northwest Missouri, she had 297 digs, 31 aces, and 15 kills in 110 sets played.
>> Corinna McMullen: leads the team with 476 assists (6.35 assists/set) and has recorded a team-best seven double-doubles ... she has landed 20 service aces and averages 2.06 digs per set.

IN THE RANKINGS …
>> The Ichabods went 3-0 last week, including a pair of wins over ranked teams, to move up to places to No. 10 in the most recent AVCA top-25 poll that was released on Oct. 10.
>> The MIAA conference and Central Region continues to have some of the best competition in Division II volleyball as five MIAA teams are ranked in the top-25 ... seven of the top-10 teams are from the Central Region.
>> The Ichabods have now been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 for 46 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 17, 2018.
>> In the 2022 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll, the Ichabods landed in a three-way tie for second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll alongside Nebraska-Kearney and Central Missouri.

MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Stevenson needs 28 kills and 54 digs to eclipse 500 in her career in both categories.
>> For this season, S. McMullen is 13 kills from 100 and 23 digs shy from reaching 300.
>> C. McMullen is 24 assists away from 500 this season.
>> In her third official season and first season as libero, Pullen needs 39 digs to hit 600 in her career.

HEAD COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 21st year leading Washburn and holds a record of 579-116 (.833) while going 274-65 in MIAA play.
>> Herron has guided Washburn to five MIAA titles, three NCAA Regional championships, and to all 16 of its trips to the NCAA Tournament since taking over the program in 2002.
>> He has coached at least one All-American in every year except 2002 and 2017 season and has seen his players earn 48 All-America awards.
>> Herron is 32-8 all-time against NWMSU.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Northwest Missouri Bearcats
>> Northwest Missouri was voted the favorite in this year's MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll after going 26-6 (17-3 MIAA) and reaching the NCAA postseason for just the second time in program history last season.
>> Through 19 matches, NWMSU is second in the MIAA hitting .252 and third with 13.71 kills per set.
>> Payton Kirchhoefer has played in 55 sets and has tallied 179 kills for a 3.25 kills per set average, ranking fourth in the MIAA , to go with 3.33 digs per set... she has recorded 13+ kills in six of the last eight
matches and is coming off an 18 kill performance against Central Missouri.
>> Jaden Ferguson has played in all 66 sets and leads the team with 197 kills.
>> Abby Brunssen ranks third in the MIAA in blocks per set (1.08) and has made a team-best 53 blocks.
>> Setter Alyssa Rezac has handed out 668 assists (10.12 assists per set) and leads the team with 26 aces.
>> Defensively in the back court, Kristen Ford averages 4.21 digs per set and has made just eight reception errors in 261 total attempts and holds a .969 reception percentage.
>> Amy Woerth is in her 10th year as the head coach and has compiled a record of 161-115 heading into this season.
Series History
>> Washburn and Northwest Missouri have played each other 74 times since 1976 and WU leads the series, 50-24.
>> When playing the Bearcats in Maryville, Washburn is 19-8.
>> Washburn last made the trip to Maryville on Oct. 15, 2021 and lost in five sets ... the Ichabods' last victory there was a sweep on Nov. 15, 2019.

LAST TIME AGAINST NORTHWEST MISSOURI ...
Sept. 17, 2022
>> The Ichabods suffered their first loss and snapped an 11-match winning streak to start the season when they fell to Northwest Missouri in Topeka, 3-1.
>> Washburn lost by the set scores of 24-26, 14-25, 25-21, and 22-25.
>> Both teams hit below .200 in the match as Northwest Missouri finished at .168 and Washburn was held to a season-low .152 attacking percentage.
>> WU finished with the slight advantage in kills, 53-52, and in blocks, 8-6, while NWMSU led in digs, 84-78, and in aces, 5-3.
>> Stevenson led WU with 10 kills while also adding career-best 20 digs
>> Broadie and Ella Waters had eight kills each with Waters hitting .538 on 13 attempts and just one error.
>> Two Bearcats finished in double-figure kills led by Kirchhoefer's 14 kills to go with 10 digs.
>> Ferguson contributed 13 kills and 17 digs.

TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> The Ichabods are set for a five-match homestand with three matches next week starting Oct. 18 against Emporia State.