TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 17 Washburn volleyball will wrap up the regular season this weekend with a pair of matches in the Show Me State. The Ichabods will take on No. 24 Central Missouri on Friday at 7 p.m. in Warrensburg, Mo., and then close out the regular season with a 3 p.m. Saturday matinee match at Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Mo.

FIRST SERVE …
>> The Ichabods went 1-1 to close out their home schedule last week and are 20-6 (12-6 MIAA).
>> Central Missouri (18-9, 13-5 MIAA) had its six match winning streak snapped on Tuesday night with a 3-1 loss at Missouri Southern.
>> Missouri Western is 9-17 (6-12 MIAA) and is coming off a 3-1 win at Newman.
>> The Griffons will host Emporia State on Friday before taking on the Ichabods Saturday.

QUICK HITS …
>> The Jennies are 7-2 when playing on their home court this fall and the Griffons are 3-5 in the MWSU Fieldhouse this season.
>> The Ichabods are 6-3 in true road matches and 13-3 when playing away from Lee Arena.
>> Washburn went over the 20 win threshold last week and has now done so 19 times in Head Coach Chris Herron's tenure ... he has had 20+ wins in every season at Washburn except 2017 (18-14) and when the 2020 season was canceled.
>> WU has landed three or more service aces in every match this year and totaled 159 aces in 98 sets ... in 2021,  the Ichabods had 159 aces in 127 sets.
>> There have now been 11 different Ichabods with at least one ace and five of those have double-figure ace numbers.

MIAA STANDINGS …
>> Seven teams have clinched their place in the MIAA Tournament and Northwest Missouri (16-3 MIAA) has secured at least a share of the MIAA regular season title for the first time in its program history after sweeping Central Oklahoma.
>> Nebraska-Kearney (14-4) is No. 2 and Central Missouri (13-5) is currently No. 3.
>> Central Oklahoma (14-6 MIAA) is now No. 4 and Washburn is currenty fifth with a 12-6 mark in conference play.
>> Pittsburg State (9-9) is sixth and Missouri Southern (8-10) is seventh after clinching a berth with Tuesday's win over UCM.
>> Missouri Western (6-12) and Fort Hays State (5-13) are battling for the final spot in the tournament.
>> 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 played its final two home matches of 2022 and swept Pittsburg State before falling to Missouri Southern in five sets on Senior Night.
>> The Ichabods swept the Gorillas by the set scores of 25-18, 25-18, and 25-15.
>> Washburn finished the night hitting .229 and limited Pittsburg State to a .097 attacking percentage.
>> The Ichabods led in every stat category, including a dominate advantage in kills (49-27) and in blocks (12-6).
>> Eleven Ichabods attempted a kill and all recorded at least one kill while four players finished with double-figure digs.
>> Stevenson led the Washburn attack with nine kills and contributed 11 digs.
>> Washburn lost its second match of the season to Missouri Southern, this time in five sets by the set scores of 25-14, 22-25, 26-28, 25-15, and 7-15.
>> The Ichabods finished off the fourth set on a 10-1 scoring run to force the fifth set, but were unable to complete the comeback as the Lions put together a 6-0 and a 5-1 run to claim the decisive game.
>> Stevenson had 13 kills, 17 digs, and was responsible for five of the Ichabods' eight service aces.
>> S. McMullen also had 13 kills and Broadie landed 12 and a .346 attacking percentage.

TEAM LEADERS …
>> As a team, the Ichabods are hitting .228 and averaging 13.7 kills per set.
>> The Ichabods have held opponents to a .156 attacking percentage, which is the second-lowest in the MIAA ... WU has held opponents to hitting below .150 in 13 matches, with six of those below .100.
>> Jalyn Stevenson: is seventh among conference hitters with 286 kills and ninth in kills per set (3.01 kps) ... she is also second on the team in aces (34) and third in digs (280) through 26 matches. She has a streak of 11-consecutive matches with double-figure digs. As a freshman last year, Stevenson finished with 263 kills, 259 digs, and 32 aces in 37 matches.
>> Halle Meister: leads the conference with a .362 attacking percentage and has totaled 221 kills (2.33 kps) ... she has hit above .400 in 12 matches including nine above .500. She also helps the team defensively and is second on the squad with 74 blocks.
>> Kealy Kiviniemi: is third on the team in kills with 191 kills and is hitting .273 ... she has 51 total blocks on the year and was a part of a season-high seven blocks against Missouri Southern.
>> Austin Broadie: tied her season-high in kills with 12 against Missouri Southern and has tallied 161 kills in her first official season of play. Broadie has at least one kill in all 26 matches.
>> Kassidy Pfeiffer: ranks sixth in the conference hitting .312 and has knocked down 114 kills on the year ... she is also seventh in the MIAA with 0.91 blocks per set (78 total, seven solo blocks).
>> Sydney Pullen: has racked up a team-high 424 digs (4.42 digs per set/seventh in MIAA) ... she also has recorded 83 assists and 17 aces. She had a career-high 29 digs against Missouri Southern.
>> Sophie McMullen: does a little of everything for Washburn with a team-high 38 aces, 366 digs (second on team), and 133 kills (fifth on team) to go with a .958 reception percentage after committing only 15 errors out of 359 total passing attempts.
>> Corinna McMullen: has guided the offense with 635 assists (6.48 assists/set) and has notched 25+ assists in 13 matches with six 30+ assists ... she also averages 2.39 digs per set and has totaled 25 aces.
>> Sydney Conner: splits setter duties with McMullen and has handed out 445 assists (4.73 aps) and recorded 179 digs (1.90 dps).

DOUBLE-DOUBLE THIS THAT …
>> Washburn has recorded 31 double-doubles this year compared to 23 last season.
>> That 31 double-double amount has been compiled between four different Ichabods.
>> C. McMullen leads the team with 11 and has achieved a double-double in three of the last four matches.
>> Stevenson has nine, Conner has six, and S. McMullen has five.

IN THE RANKINGS …
>> The Ichabods went 1-1 last week and fell three places to No. 17 in the most recent AVCA Top-25 rankings.
>> 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 with another receiving votes ... 10 of the top-25 teams are from the Central Region.
>> The Ichabods have now been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 for 49 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 17, 2018.
>> In the second set of NCAA regional rankings which were released on Nov. 2, the Ichabods were ranked ninth ... the top-eight teams will advance to the NCAA Central Region Tournament.
>> The conference tournament winners from the MIAA, NSIC, and GAC will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament ... there is currently not a GAC team ranked in the top-10 of the Central Region rankings.

MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Kiviniemi is nine kills away from 200 for her freshman year.
>> C. McMullen needs 65 more assists to hit the 700 mark.
>> Pullen is 27 digs shy of reaching 700 in her career.
>> Stevenson will have 600 career kills in 51 more.

HEAD COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 21st year leading Washburn and holds a record of 582-119 (.830) while going 277-67 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 21-23 against the Jennies and 32-4 against the Griffons.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Central Missouri Jennies
>> In 2021, Central Missouri went 29-4 (18-2 MIAA) and were MIAA regular season co-champions and won the conference tournament ... the Jens are currently 18-9 (13-5 MIAA).
>> As a team, the Jennies are hitting .224 and totaling an average of 13.50 kills per set.
>> The Jennies' defense is the top-blocking team in the MIAA and have made 262 total blocks and record 2.50 blocks per set, which ranks fifth in Division II.
>> Kersti Nix is third in the conference averaging 3.89 kills per set and was named the MIAA Offensive Athlete of the Week after averaging 5.13 kills last week vs. UCO and NU. She has recorded double-figure kills in 22 of the 27 matches this year including nine 20+ kill performances.
>> Chandler Vaughan hands out 9.16 assists per set and also leads the team with 23 aces.
>> Defensively, Jenna Schulte has made 104 total blocks for a 1.28 blocks per set average (first in MIAA/second in DII) ... she has also totaled 141 kills on the year.
>> Rylie Barnum has racked up 4.29 digs per set and holds a .966 reception percentage.
>> Caitlin Peterson, a UCM volleyball All-American, is in her first year as the head coach of the Jennies after serving as an assistant since 2013.
Series History
>> Although Washburn has won three of the last four, Central Missouri owns a 55-22 series record.
>> When playing in Warrensburg, Washburn is 9-22 ... however, the Ichabods have won the last four matches in the Multipurpose Building.
>> Washburn's most recent win over Central Missouri on its home court happened on Dec. 3, 2021 when the Jennies were ranked No. 1 in the nation and the No. 1 seeded team in the NCAA Central Region tournament ... the Ichabods lost the first set 25-14 before rallying to win the next three and upset the top-ranked team to advance to the regional finals.

Missouri Western Griffons
>> Missouri Western went 14-16 (6-14 MIAA) last year and head into this week with a 9-17 (6-12 MIAA) mark.
>> The Griffon offense is hitting .155 and averaging 11.6 kills per set while the defense averages 17.8 digs per set and 1.9 blocks per set.
>> Danielle Moje has knocked down 263 kills (2.80 kps), which is over 100 kills more than her closest teammate with the second-most kills. Moje's .294 attacking percentage is 11th in the MIAA and her kills per set average ranks 12th. She is also 13th in blocks per set with 0.79 bps.
>> Lily Kurz contributes 1.61 kills per set (153 total kills) and leads the team with 88 blocks (0.93 bps/sixth in MIAA). Twenty-four of her blocks have been solo stops.
>> Lia Graham leads the team with 370 digs and has a .952 reception percentage.
>> Setter Nessa Johnson averages 7.88 assists per set and leads the team with 25 aces.
>> Former Washburn All-American volleyball player, Jessica Fey, is in her first season as the head coach at Missouri Western.
Series History
>> Washburn has won the last six meetings against Missouri Western and has now pulled within one match in the all-time series, 47-46.
>> The Ichabods are 17-11 when playin in St. Joe.
>> During the Ichabods' six-match winning streak, they have only dropped four sets.

LAST TIME AGAINST CENTRAL MISSOURI ...
Oct. 8, 2022
>> The 3-0 victory over Central Missouri was just the fifth time in program history that Washburn had shut out the Jennies in 77 matchups since 1978.
>> Washburn won by the set scores of 25-20, 25-21, and 25-18.
>> The Ichabods had a commanding advantage in kills, 55-22, and also led in digs, 66-47.
>> UCM was strong defensively at the net, outblocking WU, 15-4.
>> S. McMullen notched a double-double after recording a season-high 15 kills to go with 21 digs.
>> Kiviniemi hit .345 and totaled 14 kills and Meister hit .320 with 13 kills.
>> The Jennies' offense was led by Grace Southern and Nix who had seven kills apiece.

LAST TIME AGAINST MISSOURI WESTERN ...
Oct. 7, 2022
>> The Ichabods Missouri Western, 3-1 (18-25, 25-22, 25-11, 25-15)
>> Four Ichabods had double-digit kill totals as Stevenson led all players with 14 kills and added 12 digs.
>> Meister and Kiviniemi had 12 kills and hit above .300.
>> S. McMullen chipped in 10 kills and a team-best 21 digs and four aces.
>> For the Griffons, Moje led the team with 13 kills and was a part of a team-high four blocks.
>> Johnson recorded a team-high in assists (35) and digs (20) and also knocked down three kills.

TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> After the Ichabods will play the final match of the regular season in St. Joseph, Mo., they will be right back to the city on Nov. 10 for the MIAA Tournament quarterfinal match. The complete tournament bracket will be announced on Saturday.