TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 12-ranked Washburn will wrap up its five-match road swing with a top-15 battle at No. 5 Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday evening.

FIRST SERVE …
>> Washburn holds a 13-3 overall record with a 5-3 mark in MIAA matches after going 1-1 last week.
>> The Lopers are 17-1 (7-1 MIAA) with their only loss of the season coming from Washburn on Sept. 10 when the Ichabods rallied to win in five after losing the first two sets.

QUICK HITS …
>> The Ichabods are on a three-match winning streak against the Lopers, marking just the second time that has happened in program history and the first since 1983-85.
>> WU is 1-1 against ranked opponents this season ... in 2021, the Ichabods went 9-6 against opponents ranked in the top-25.
>> The Lopers were ranked seventh when the Ichabods defeated them.
>> The Ichabods are 2-0 in five-set matches this year.
>> Since Washburn head coach Chris Herron took over the program in 2002, his teams have compiled a 449-35 record when winning the first set.
>> This season, the Ichabods have lost the first set in four matches and gone on to win three of those.

ACES HIGH …
>> Washburn leads the MIAA with 1.81 aces per set.
>> The Ichabods have landed three or more service aces in every match this season and have had five double-figure ace matches.
>> Last year, WU had 159 service aces in 37 matches ... through 16 matches this year, WU has 107.
>> Five Ichabods have racked up double-figure service aces.
>> Sophie McMullen has a conference-best 28 service aces (0.49 aces per set).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE THIS THAT …
>> Washburn has recorded 12 double-doubles from four different players since Sept. 9.
>> The Ichabod setters account for eight of those double-doubles as Corinna McMullen and Sydney Conner have four apiece.
>> Conner has had a double-double in the past three-consecutive matches.
>> Jalyn Stevenson has added three double-figure kills/digs matches and S. McMullen has one.
>> In the five-set win over Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 10, all four of those players notched a double-double.

LAST TIME OUT …
>> The Ichabods went 1-1 on the road last week, falling at Missouri Southern in four sets before rallying for a five-set win at Pittsburg State.
>> Washburn lost to Missouri Southern by the set scores of 25-22, 20-25, 21-25, and 25-27.
>> The Lions out hit the Ichabods .179 to .145. Missouri Southern led in kills, 59-50, and in blocks, 12-6, while Washburn had the advantage in digs, 75-68. Both teams landed three service aces.
>> Taryn Pridgett led Washburn with a career-high eight kills.
>> The following day, the Ichabods bounced back with a 3-2 win at Pittsburg State by the set scores of 15-25, 25-18, 21-25, 25-17, and 15-12.
>> Kealy Kiviniemi led the offensive charge, hitting a scorching .500 after knocking down a season-best 20 kills and committing just two errors.

TEAM LEADERS …
>> As a team, the Ichabods rank fourth among MIAA programs in hitting percentage (.233) and kills per set (12.39 kps).
>> Washburn has also held its opponents to a .163 hitting percentage, the third-lowest opponent attacking percentage in the league ... the Ichabods have held 13 opponents to hitting .180 or lower.
>> Jalyn Stevenson: leads the team with 163 kills and has registered a dozen matches with eight or more kills, including eight in double-figures. Stevenson is also second on the team with 18 service aces and is third in total digs with 139 (2.48 digs/set).
>> Halle Meister: is fourth in the conference with a .385  hitting percentage and has 136 kills ... she has had nine matches hitting above .400. Meister also leads the team in total blocks with 42.
>> Austin Broadie: has 104 kills on the year and hammered down 11 on Saturday against Pittsburg State to tie her season-high mark.
>> Kealy Kiviniemi: recorded the Ichabods' highest individual kill total of the year on Saturday as she knocked down a career-best 20 kills against the Gorillas ... she has exactly 100 kills so far in her freshman campaign. Her .342 attacking percentage is sixth-best in the MIAA.
>> Kassidy Pfeiffer: is seventh in the league in blocks at .85 bps and has made 40 total blocks, including a team-best five solo stops ... she contributed seven kills and six digs in the win over PSU.
>> Sydney Pullen: leads the team with 245 total digs (4.22 digs per set/ninth in MIAA) ... she has had 14 double-figure dig matches with five being 20+ dig performances.
>> Sophie McMullen: is close behind with 189 digs (3.32 digs per set) and has a .970 reception percentage after receiving 197 out of 203 serves that have come her way ... she also has 47 kills.
>> Corinna McMullen: leads the team with 342 assists (5.80 assists/set) and also scoops up an average of 1.93 digs per set.
>> Sydney Conner: shares the role of setter and has tallied 286 assists (4.85assists/set) and recorded a season-high 28 assists against Pittsburg State.

IN THE RANKINGS …
>> After going 1-1 last week, the Ichabods dropped four places in the latest AVCA rankings to No. 12 in the nation.
>> 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 45 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 is two digs shy from eclipsing 400 in her career.
>> In their first official season, Broadie and Kiviniemi both surpassed 100 kills for the season last weekend.
>> Conner is 14 assists away from 300 this season.

HEAD COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 21st year leading Washburn and holds a record of 575-116 (.832) while going 270-65 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.
>> Out of his 575 victories, 381 of those have come in three sets and he is 381-44 in three set matches.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
>> The Lopers sit atop the MIAA standings and have a one-match lead over Central Oklahoma.
>> UNK leads the league and is fifth in the nation with a .288 attacking percentage.
>> On the flip side, the Lopers are holding their opponents to a conference-low .139 clip, which also ranks fourth in Division II.
>> They also No. 4 in DII with 14.43 kills per set.
>> UNK has two of the top-three hitters in percentage in the MIAA, as Fallon Stutheit leads the way and is sixth in the nation with a .446 attacking percentage with 156 kills and only 19 errors on 307 attempts.
>> Bailee Sterling is third in the conference, hitting .389 with 164 kills.
>> Emersen Cyza has racked up 216 kills (second in the MIAA) and has a .283 hitting percentage.
>> Setter Peyton Neff's 11.03 assists per set ranks 10th in Division II.
>> Rick Squiers is in his 23rd year at the helm for Nebraska-Kearney and held a 701-96 record coming into this season.

Series History
>> Nebraska-Kearney leads the series 37-15, but Washburn has won the last three meetings.
>> The Health and Sports Center in Kearney is a tough environment to play in as the Ichabods are just 2-7 when facing the Lopers there ... however, Washburn has won two of the last three matches there.
>> UNK is 83-4 on its home court since 2017.
>> The Ichabods last played at UNK on Sept. 18, 2021 and defeated the then-ranked No. 1 Lopers on their home court in four sets.
>> Washburn's Stevenson had a double-double with 16 kills and 16 digs.

LAST TIME AGAINST NEBRASKA-KEARNEY ...
>> The Ichabods knocked off Nebraska-Kearney by the set scores of 24-26, 22-25, 25-17, 25-18, and 16-14 in Lee Arena on Sept. 10.
>> Both teams finished the match hitting below .200 as the Ichabods finished at .195 and held the Lopers to a season-low .122 clip.
>> The Lopers have hit below .130 only twice since the 2018 season, with one of those times occurring on Oct. 20, 2018 against Washburn.
>> The Ichabods led in kills, 67-55, and blocks, 12-10.
>> Four Ichabods finished in double-figure kills led by Stevenson's 15 ... she also added 16 digs.
>> S. McMullen also notched a double-double as she had 12 kills and 26 digs.
>> Kiviniemi and Broadie each had 10 kills and Broadie was a part of nine blocks on the afternoon.
>> The setter duo of C. McMullen and Conner also joined the double-double club ... McMullen notched 36 assists and 12 digs and Conner recorded 16 assists and 10 digs.
>> Pullen had a career-high 27 digs in the back court.
>> The Lopers were led by Cyza, who had a team-high 18 kills, and Stutheit knocked down 12 kills.

TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> After a five-match road trip, the Ichabods return home for matches against Missouri Western and Central Missouri, Oct. 7-8. The Friday match against the Griffons will be Washburn volleyball's alumni night.