TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 12-ranked Washburn volleyball team will begin a five-match homestand starting with a Turnpike Tussle against Emporia State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

FIRST SERVE …
>> The Ichabods went 1-1 last week and are now 17-4 (9-3 MIAA) this season.
>> The Hornets have lost nine in a row and are 4-18 (1-12 MIAA)
>> Fans not able to attend the game can in-person can follow the action on live stats here or watch the MIAA Network video stream here by purchasing a season subscription or the single match option.
>> Those planning to attend the match can purchase tickets here.

QUICK HITS …
>> The Ichabods swept the Hornets last month in Emporia.
>> The Hornets are 1-9 in true road matches this fall.
>> WU is 8-1 when playing in the state of Kansas this season.
>> Washburn is 8-0 in three set matches and 3-0 in five set matches ... the Ichabods' only losses of the season have come in four sets where they are 6-4.
>> Out of the 24 sets that Washburn has lost, 16 have been decided by six or fewer points.
>> The Ichabods are 3-0 when playing on Tuesdays.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME …
>> Washburn has gone 238-31 in Lee Arena since 2002, good for an 88.5 winning percentage.
>> When playing MIAA matches in Topeka during Head Coach Chris Herron's tenure, Washburn is 150-24.
>> The Ichabods are 4-1 in Lee Arena this fall and will conclude their home schedule with a five-match homestand starting Tuesday against ESU.
>> WU went 14-2 at home last year.
>> Washburn volleyball attracts a large fan base to its matches as WU has ranked in the top-10 in NCAA Division II volleyball attendence in 10 of the last 20 seasons and has been among the top-25 in attendance 17 times since 2002.

MIAA STANDINGS …
>> Nebraska-Kearney is now the lone leader in the MIAA standings with a 12-2 mark.
>> Central Oklahoma (9-3 MIAA) lost to UNK last weekend and is tied with Northwest Missouri for second.
>> Washburn and Central Missouri are tied for fourth with a 9-4 MIAA record.
>> Pittsburg State is at .500 and sixth in the standings with a 7-7 record.
>> 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 …
>> For the second time this season, Washburn lost at then-ranked No. 15 Northwest Missouri on Friday by the set scores of 26-28, 15-25, 29-27, and 21-25.
>> In total for the four sets, there were 16 lead changes, 38 ties, and two of the sets went to extra points.
>> The opening set was tied at 26-all when the Bearcats landed back-to-back kills to take the frame.
>> It was all Northwest Missouri in the second as the Washburn struggled, hitting a rare -.023 with eight kills and nine attacking errors.
>> The third set was a marathon that consisted of 11 lead changes and 21 ties. Northwest Missouri sat at match point, 26-25, when Washburn put together a 4-1 rally to spoil the sweep.
>> WU held an early advantage in the fourth, but relinquished the lead midway through the frame and could not overcome again as the Bearcats held on for the victory.
>> Northwest Missouri outhit Washburn, .270 to .180. The Bearcats had the advantage in kills, 73-55, and in digs, 100-92, while the Ichabods had the edge in aces, 5-4, and blocks, 8-6.
>> Stevenson led Washburn's offense with 15 kills to go with 15 digs and a team-best two service aces.
>> Against her former team, Sophie McMullen had 11 kills and a team-high 21 digs.

TEAM LEADERS …
>> As a team, the Ichabods are hitting .225 and average 13.63 kills per set.
>> Jalyn Stevenson: is 11th among conference hitters with 224 kills and 2.95 kills per set ... she is also second on the team in aces (24) and third in digs (202), She has recorded 11 double-figure kill matches and six double-doubles. Last season, she had just three double-doubles in 37 matches played.
>> Halle Meister: is second on the team in kills with 182 and her .352 hitting percentage is third in the league. She is also the team leader in blocks with 59 ... she has registered at least four or more kills in 20 of the 21 matches she's played and had at least one block in 19 matches.
>> Kealy Kiviniemi: has 147 kills and is hitting .288 ... in the seven matches she's started, she leads the team in combined kills during that stretch with 59 and is second in blocks with 12.
>> Austin Broadie: has 128 kills with five double-figure kill performances ... she has made at least one kill in each of the 21 matches she's played. She also has 36 blocks.
>> Kassidy Pfeiffer: has made a team-high six solo blocks and totaled 57 blocks on the year to go with 90 kills and a .323 attacking percentage.
>> Sydney Pullen: leads the team with 337 total digs (4.38 digs per set/eighth in MIAA) ... she also has racked up 59 assists and 14 aces.
>> Sophie McMullen: has a conference-best 37 service aces, scooped up 298 digs (3.87 digs per set/second on team), and has contributed 98 kills (fifth on team) in 73 sets ... she has had a double-double in four consecutive matches.
>> Corinna McMullen: leads the team with 503 assists (6.37 assists/set) and has recorded a team-best eight double-doubles, six of which have been in the past eight matches ... she has landed 20 service aces and averages 2.27 digs per set.

ON THIS DATE - OCT. 18 …
>> Washburn defeated Emporia State in five-set thriller in Lee Arena on Oct. 18, 2000.
>> The last time that Washburn played on Oct. 18 was back in 2019 when the Ichabods defeated Central Missouri at home, 3-1.
>> Herron has coached six matches on Oct. 18 and has gone 4-2 on those dates.

IN THE RANKINGS …
>> The Ichabods went 1-1 last week and dropped two places in this week's AVCA rankings to No. 12.
>> The MIAA conference and Central Region continues to have some of the best competition in Division II volleyball as four MIAA teams are ranked in the top-25 ... six of the top-10 teams are from the Central Region.
>> The Ichabods have now been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 for 47 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 13 kills and 39 digs to eclipse 500 in her career in both categories.
>> S. McMullen is two kills from 100 and two digs from 300 for this season.
>> Sydney Conner is 33 assists away from 400 this season.
>> In her third official season and first season as libero, Pullen needs 24 digs to reach 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 35-7 all-time against ESU.
>> When playing the Hornets in Lee Arena, Herron is 18-1 ... that one loss occurred on Oct. 25, 2006.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Emporia State Hornets
>> The Hornet volleyball team is currently hitting .138 with 11.4 kills per set
>> Leah Mach leads the team with 220 kills (2.72 kps) and is third on the team with 223 digs (2.75 dps).
>> Shelby Ebert has landed a team-high 38 aces for a 0.47 aces per set average, ranking second in the MIAA ... she has also totaled 120 kills, 272 digs, and 21 blocks.
>> Megan Stretton leads the ESU defense with 329 digs (4.27 digs per set) and has a .944 reception percentage.
>> Riley Bernskoetter and Ainslee Stepp have split time at setter and have racked up 365 and 307 assists, respectively.
>> Bing Xu is in his 17th year as the head coach at Emporia State and holds a record of 295-219.
Series History
>>  The Ichabods have won 24 of the last 25 meetings against the Hornets and are on a nine-match winning streak.
>> Washburn has not dropped a set against Emporia State in the last six matches.
>> Emporia State, however, leads the all-time series dating back to 1969 by the record of 77-49.
>> When playing the Hornets in Topeka, Washburn is 25-20 ... WU has won the last 14-straight home matches against ESU.

LAST TIME AGAINST EMPORIA STATE ...
Sept. 13, 2022
>> The Ichabods defeated the Hornets at White Auditorium last month by the set scores of 25-16, 25-15, and 25-17,
>> After starting the match slowly, Washburn won 14 of the final 16 points to take set one.
>> Washburn never trailed in the second set.
>> In the third set, the Ichabods finished strong again and won 11 of the last 14 points and the offense hit a collective .517. with 16 kills and five aces in the final game.
>> WU hit a season-high .361 overall in the match compared to ESU's .163 and led in kills (42-35), aces (10-3), and blocks (5-1).
>> Eleven Ichabods recorded at least one kill in the match and were paced by Austin Broadie's 10 kills and .500 hitting percentage.
>> Stevenson registered nine kills and Meister added eight kills on 12 swings with zero errors for a .667 attacking percentage.
>> ESU's Winny Harris hit .636 and had a team-best eight kills.

TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> The Ichabods continue their homestand into this weekend and host No. 19 Central Oklahoma on Friday and Newman on Saturday. Both matches are slated for a 6 p.m. first serve.