TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 12 Washburn will host No. 19 Central Oklahoma and Newman for homecoming weekend this Friday and Saturday. First serve for both matches is schedule for 6 p.m. in Lee Arena.

FIRST SERVE …
>> The Ichabods improved to 18-4 (10-4 MIAA) after sweeping Emporia State on Tuesday evening.
>> The Bronchos are 20-4 overall and also have a 10-4 mark in conference play after falling in straight sets at Missouri Southern on Tuesday.
>> The Jets have lost nine in a row and are 7-17 (2-12 MIAA) ... Newman will play at Emporia State on Friday before traveling to Topeka.
>> Saturday's match against Newman will be Washburn's Pink Out Game to promote breast cancer awareness.

QUICK HITS …
>> In the Ichabods' trip south last month, Central Oklahoma defeated Washburn in four sets before WU finished out the week with a shutout win at Newman.
>> The Bronchos are 5-3 in true road matches and the Jets are 0-8.
>> Washburn is 9-0 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.
>> WU is 12-2 this season when winning the first set ... during Head Coach Chris Herron's tenure since 2002, Washburn is 451-35 when winning the opening set.
>> This fall, the Ichabods are 3-2 when playing a nationally ranked opponent.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME …
>> Washburn has gone 239-31 in Lee Arena since 2002, good for an 88.5 winning percentage.
>> When playing MIAA matches in Topeka since Herron took over the program in 2002, 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 (12-2 MIAA) and Northwest Missouri (11-3 MIAA) have officially clinched a place in the MIAA postseason and sit at No. 1 and No. 2 in the standings.
>> Central Oklahoma and Washburn are tied at third holding a 10-4 conference record.
>> Central Missouri (9-4 MIAA) is one match behind in fifth and Pittsburg State went above .500 after its win over Newman and sits in sixth.
>> 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 swept Emporia State for the second time this season, this time in Lee Arena by the set scores of 25-12, 25-23, and 25-14.
>> WU led from start to finish of the opening set.
>> The second set saw three lead changes and nine ties. The Ichabods fought back to tie the match 21 and 22 and then trailing 23-22, Washburn won the final three points in a row to take the second frame.
>> The Ichabods rattled off the first four points of the third set and increased their lead to 9-4 with another 4-0 run. WU continued its attack and went on a 6-1 run to go up 19-10, earning each point on kills from five different Ichabods. Washburn wrapped up the sweep with four-consecutive points in the 25-14 win.
>> Washburn finished the match just two points shy of its season-high with a .359 attacking percentage while limiting Emporia State to hitting .124.
>> The Ichabods led in every stat category, including kills (44-30), digs (48-33), and aces (7-2).
>> Nine Ichabods recorded at least one kill with six players hitting above .500 for the night.
>> Kealy Kiviniemi led the way with nine kills on 15 swings and one error for a .533 attacking percentage.
>> Sophie McMullen chipped in seven kills and seven digs.

TEAM LEADERS …
>> As a team, the Ichabods are hitting .229 and averaging 13.67 kills per set.
>> Jalyn Stevenson: is 10th among conference hitters with 230 kills and 11th in kills per set (2.95 kps) ... she is also second on the team in aces (26) and third in digs (216) through 22 matches. In 37 matches during her freshman campaign last year, she finished with 263 kills, 32 aces, and 259 digs.
>> Halle Meister: is second on the team in kills with 188 and her .356 hitting percentage is third in the league ... she has hit above .400 in 10 matches. She is also second on the team with 59 blocks.
>> Kealy Kiviniemi: has 156 kills and is hitting .297 to go with 37 total blocks ... combined in her last four-consecutive starts, she's tallied 36 kills and 10 blocks.
>> Austin Broadie: has 132 kills with five double-figure kill performances ... she entered the ESU match in the second set and knocked down three crucial kills to tie the set at 21, 22, and 23 before the Ichabods went on to win the game, 25-23.
>> Kassidy Pfeiffer: is sixth in the conference hitting .333 and has totaled 95 kills on the year ... she had five kills on eight swings and zero errors in the win over ESU. After three blocks against the Hornets, she moved up as the team leader in blocks and has 60 total including seven solos.
>> Sydney Pullen: leads the team with 347 total digs (4.34 digs per set/eighth in MIAA) ... she also has recorded 62 assists and 15 aces.
>> Sophie McMullen: has a conference-best 0.46 aces per set (37 total aces), scooped up 305 digs (3.81 digs per set/second on team), and has contributed 105 kills (fifth on team) ... she has been on tear in the last five matches, totaling 56 kills (3.11 kps), 92 digs (5.11 dps), and seven aces.
>> Corinna McMullen: leads the team with 534 assists (6.51 assists/set) and has recorded a team-best eight double-doubles ... she has landed 21 service aces and averages 2.24 digs per set.

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 seven kills and 25 digs to eclipse 500 in her career in both categories.
>> Sydney Conner is 30 assists away from 400 this season.
>> Pullen is 14 digs shy of reaching 600 in her career.

HEAD COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 21st year leading Washburn and holds a record of 580-116 (.832) while going 275-65 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 13-8 all-time against UCO and undefeated against NU, 11-0.
>> When playing the Bronchos and Jets in Lee Arena, Herron is 7-2 and 2-0, respectively.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Central Oklahoma Bronchos
>> The youth-filled Central Oklahoma roster which consists of only one upper classman (a junior) is making itself known as the Bronchos rank in the top-five in Division II in eight team statistical categories, including assists (1,216/first), kills (1,323/first), and digs (1,724/second).
>> Freshman setter Lindsey Houran enters the week as the only player in all of NCAA DI, DII, and DIII to have eclipsed 1,000 assists so far this year ... she has 1,079 assists and is third in the nation with 11.86 assists per set.
>> UCO is fourth in DII with 14.54 kills per set and is led by Sydney Huck's 4.40 kps (ninth in DII). The freshman outside has totaled 374 total kills and is second on the team with 245 digs as well as 34 blocks.
>> Libero Jaedynn Evans leads all of Division II with 6.62 digs per set and 602 total digs.
>> Mallorie Koehn has totaled 272 kills (3.16 kps) and leads the team with 29 aces.
>> Edgar Miraku is in his 11th year at the helm for UCO and has compiled a record of 236-84.
Series History
>> These two teams have played 26 times since 1995 and WU leads the series, 16-10.
>> Washburn has won five of the last six matchups.
>> In Herron's tenure, Washburn has played the Bronchos 11 times when they've been ranked in the top-25 and UCO has a slight edge in the series against WU when ranked, 6-5.
>> Washburn is 9-2 when playing Central Oklahoma in Lee Arena.

Newman Jets
>> Newman looks to snap a nine-match losing streak as they hold a record of 7-17 (2-12 MIAA).
>> Riley Daugherty has knocked down the fourth-most kills among MIAA players this season as she has racked up 286 (3.08 kps). She also leads the team with 18 ace and is  second on the squad with 302 digs (3.25 dps).
>> Ozioma Ajekwu is hitting .256 with 214 kills on the year and her 103 total blocks ranks third in DII, just three blocks behind the national leader.
>> Natalie Morales leads the defense with 451 digs (4.85 dps) and has a .952 reception percentage after passing 557 out of the 585 service attempts that have come her way.
>> Setter McKinzie Weaver averages an even 10.00 assists per set, ranking fifth in the MIAA.
>> Marisa Compton is in her first season as the head coach at Newman.
Series History
>> The Ichabods are on a 13-match winning streak against the Jets and lead the overall series, 23-7.
>> During that winning stretch, the Ichabods have dropped only two sets and have recorded 11 sweep victories.
>> Washburn is 7-2 when playing Newman in Topeka ... the last home loss to the Jets was on Oct. 16, 1984.

LAST TIME AGAINST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA ...
Sept. 22, 2022
>> Washburn won the opening set, 25-23, before losing the next three (18-25, 22-25, 13-25).
>> It was neck-and-neck to begin the match as the first set saw 16 ties and six lead changes while neither team ever led by more than three points with the largest lead being held by UCO at 6-3 and then 8-5 ... WU landed a kill that sparked a 4-1 run to close out the first set win.
>> The Bronchos took control of the second set as the only lead the Ichabods held was at the 3-2 mark.
>> The Ichabods put together a 5-2 run to pull within one, 23-22 in the third frame. The Bronchos held on, though, and won the final two points on a service error and a kill to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
>> In the fourth set, Washburn led 4-3 when Central Oklahoma ripped off a 14-3 scoring tear to go up, 17-7. The score difference would get no closer than seven as the Bronchos cruised to the win.
>> Stevenson knocked down 17 kills and added seven digs.
>> The Central Oklahoma attack was led by Huck and Koehn, who had 21 and 16 kills, respectively.

LAST TIME AGAINST NEWMAN ...
Sept. 23, 2022
>> The Ichabods didn't take their first lead in the opening frame until a 6-2 run pushed them in front, 20-18. After a Newman timeout, the Jets got the next two points to level the score and force a Washburn timeout. The Ichabods went back in front on a Newman service error and won five of the final six points to take set one, 25-21.
>> In set two, NU continued to fight and knotted up the score at 21 and 23 when WU called a timeout. The Jets scored the next point to sit at set point when the Ichabods answered with three-consecutive kills to win the game, 26-24.
>> After breaking a 2-2 tie with six unanswered points, WU never trailed again in the third and completed the shutout with a 25-20 win.
>> Kiviniemi hit .389 on the night with a team-high 16 kills and just two errors.
>> Meister notched nine kills on 15 attempts with zero errors for a scorching .600 attacking percentage.
>> Two Newman players reach double-figure kills, led by Salome Romp's 15. Daugherty had 10 kills and 19 digs.

TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> The Ichabods close out their home schedule for 2022 with two more matches next week, first against Pittsburg State on Oct. 26 and then senior night against Missouri Southern the following evening.