TOPEKA, Kan. -- The Washburn volleyball team will begin the 2022 campaign on the road with four matches at the UNK Fall Classic this Friday and Saturday.
FIRST SERVE …
>> On Friday, the Ichabods will face Central Washington (10 a.m.) and Minot State (4 p.m.) before wrapping up the tournament on Saturday against Midwestern State (10 a.m.) and Sioux Falls (4 p.m.).
>> The reigning Central Region champion Washburn went 31-6 last season and finished as the NCAA National Runner-Up.
UNK FALL CLASSIC …
>> Every match in the tournament will be live streamed on the MIAA Network and all of Washburn's matches will have live stats except for the first match on Friday against Central Washington.
>> Fans can purchase an individual broadcast pass from the MIAA Network for $10, or select the All-Access pass for $125. More information can be found here.
>> A complete tournament schedule can be found here.
>> The six team tournament will feature participants from four different conferences. The Ichabods and Lopers represent the MIAA while Minot State and Sioux Falls come from the NSIC. Central Washington, a member of the GNAC, will make the 1,400 mile journey from Ellensburg, Wash. to Kearney, Neb.
>> Washburn has never played at the Rosella Meier UNK Fall Classic.
QUICK HITS …
>> Washburn is 37-15 all-time in season openers and 25-6 since joining the NCAA and MIAA in 1989.
>> The Ichabods will begin the new season right where they finished as the No. 2-ranked team in the nation. They were voted No. 2 in the AVCA Coaches Preseason Poll that was released on Aug. 17.
>> Washburn has started the season ranked in the AVCA top-25 poll 17 times in Chris Herron's 21 official seasons as head coach.
>> Additionally, the Ichabods landed in a three-way tie for second in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll alongside Nebraska-Kearney and Central Missouri.
>> Washburn finished tied for second with Northwest Missouri in the 2021 MIAA standings.
>> The Ichabods went 7-2 in neutral site matches and 10-2 in true road matches last year.
>> Washburn faced a tough schedule in 2021 and went 9-6 against opponents ranked in the top-25.
>> Out of those 14 matches, nine of them were against teams ranked in the top-10.
2022 SQUAD … RETURNERS
>> There are eight Ichabods returning from 2021 after losing 14 student-athletes from last year's roster.
>> Halle Meister will begin her fifth and final season at Washburn this fall. Last year, she played in 15 matches and had 12 kills and six blocks.
>> Sydney Pullen and Kassidy Pfeiffer will also take part in their senior seasons and have been on the team since 2019.
>> Pullen competed in 22 matches in 2021 and recorded 33 digs and had a .940 reception percentage.
>> Pfeiffer made her debut on the court last season after redshirting in 2019 and the 2020 season being canceled due to COVID-19 ... she played in 11 matches, had one kill, six digs, and three service aces.
>> A quartet of sophomores also return ... Jalyn Stevenson looks to build on an impressive freshman year in which she earned All-MIAA Honorable Mention accolades and played in all 37 matches with 30 starts ... she finished fourth on the team in kills with 263 (2.16 kills per set), third in digs at 259 (2.12 digs per set), and second in service aces, landing 32 on the year
>> Chloe Paschal played in all 37 matches and made six starts last season ... she finished the year with 153 digs (1.31 digs per set), a .944 reception percentage, and 19 aces.
>> Samantha Moburg and Taryn Pridgett round out this year's sophomore list after joining the team in 2020.
>> Moburg got into 19 matches in 2021 and tallied 13 kills, four digs, three blocks, and two service aces.
>> Pridgett had nine kills and six digs in 15 matches last season.
>> Austin Broadie looks to make her first Washburn appearance on the court after she sat out the 2021 campaign as a redshirt.
2022 SQUAD … NEWCOMERS
>> The 2022 roster will have a very young look to it as there are 10 freshmen on this year's squad.
>> Of those 10 freshmen, three are setters: Audrey Dowd (Littleton, Colo.), Corinna McMullen (Bucyrus, Kan.), and Sydney Conner (Kearney, Neb.).
>> Conner is also the younger sister of assistant coach, Shayla Conner.
>> There are a pair of defensive specialists/liberos in the group as well: Payton Mitchell (Jefferson City, Mo.) and Kali Henry (Tecumseh, Kan.).
>> Five hitters round out the group of freshmen: Iyannah Jackson (Lansing, Kan./Middle), Ella Waters (Hickman, Neb./Outside), Kealy Kiviniemi (Bellevue, Neb./Right Side), Bella Limback (Waverly, Mo./Outside), and Brooklyn Lassiter (Topeka, Kan./Middle).
>> Two transfer student-athletes also join the team in Maddie Steiner and Sophie McMullen.
>> Topeka-native Steiner comes to Washburn after two seasons at Johnson County Community College where she helped the team to a national championship title in 2020 and earned All-America honors in 2021 after she finished the year with 663 digs, 43 aces, and 104 assists.
>> McMullen, whose little sister is Corinna, was a four year member of the volleyball team at MIAA rival Northwest Missouri ... last year, she played in 31 matches and tied for second on the team with 297 digs and was fourth in aces with 31.
LAST TIME OUT …
>> Washburn was one of the final two Division II teams playing in 2021 as the Ichabods took on the host team and No. 1 seed Tampa on Dec. 11 for the National Championship title.
>> All three sets were decided by four or fewer points, but the Spartans came out on top, 25-21, 26-24, and 25-21.
>> The Spartans finished the match hitting .361 while the Ichabods hit .224. UT led in kills, 52-44, and in digs, 69-59.
>> Genna Berg led the Ichabods with 15 kills to go with eight digs.
>> Kelsey Gordon hit .385 on the night and knocked down 12 kills with just two errors.
>> Allison Sadler had 37 assists and was one dig shy of a double-double.
>> The Spartans were paced by Katie McKiel's 16 kills and Taylor Fosler added nine kills while hitting .615 in the match.
BY THE NUMBERS …
2 : NCAA Central Region championships won by Washburn in the past three official seasons.
10 : freshmen on this year's team ... the largest freshman class of Coach Herron's tenure at Washburn.
14 : student-athletes who were on the roster last year who are not on the 2022 roster, including 10 graduated seniors.
19 : consecutive winning seasons for Washburn.
20 : three-set victories Washburn claimed in 2021 ... the team reached that exact same amount in 2019.
258 : days since the Ichabods last played.
562 : wins that Herron has at Washburn.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Stevenson is 37 kills away from 300 in her career.
>> Paschal needs 47 more digs to eclipse 200.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Central Washington Wildcats
>> The Wildcats reached the NCAA West Regional semifinal match and finished the 2021 season 17-9 (12-6 GNAC).
>> Heading into the new year, CWU received votes on the AVCA national poll, was selected second in the conference preseason poll, and had three student-athletes receive preseason all-GNAC honors after being all-conference first team selections last year.
>> Tia Andaya was one of those picks after recording 221 kills, 492 assists, and 217 digs. She averaged 5.07 assists, 2.24 digs, and 0.31 aces per set on the way to being named the GNAC Newcomer of the Year. Andaya also earned AVCA Third Team All-America honors.
>> Also on the list was Ashley Kaufman. In 2021, she averaged 3.13 kills and 2.27 digs per set accross 97 sets played. Her 304 kills led the team and her 220 digs was second on the squad.
>> The third Wildcat to be recognized in the preseason awards was libero Hannah Stires, who is the returning GNAC Defensive Player of the Year. Last season, she recorded a conference-high 4.68 digs per set, culminating in 440 total digs on the campaign. She added 91 assists and 23 service aces to her totals.
>> CWU is led by Mario Andaya in his 27th season at the helm. He holds an overall 415-282 record as a head coach for the Wildcats
>> These two programs have only faced twice and the series is split at one match apiece. The Ichabods played the Wildcats most recently in Lee Arena on Sept. 7 and came away with a 3-1 victory.
Minot State Beavers
>> The Beavers concluded the 2021 season with a 1-25 record and were voted 16th in this year's NSIC Preseason Poll.
>> The team has a youthful look to it as there are 18 players on the roster with zero upper classmen. The team has nine sophomores, three redshirt freshmen, and six freshmen.
>> Sophomore Kylie Koontz led the team last season with 160 kills and was second with 143 digs.
>> Alex Lehocky will begin her first season at Minot State this fall after spending three years as the head coach at New Mexico Junior College.
>> These two teams met for the first time ever last season and the Ichabods rolled to a 3-0 win on Sept. 4 and posted their highest single match attacking percentage in Washburn's record book, finishing with a blazing .512.
Midwestern State Mustangs
>> The Mustangs finished out the 2021 campaign with a record of 4-21 with a 2-15 mark in the Lone Star Conference.
>> MSU returns four starters for this year, including Autumn Roach who was named to the LSC preseason setter's watch list after leading the Mustangs with 5.53 assists per set.
>> Lauryn Bourne is also a top-returner and led the team in kills with 234 total for a 2.72 kills per set average.
>> Stephanie Radecki will begin her first season as the head coach at Midwestern State this fall after four years at Southern Miss, a 14-year run of success at the University of North Alabama, and one season at Saint Leo.
>> Washburn has won all four matches against Midwestern State and lost only one set during that run.
>> The last matchup against these two teams came on Sept. 2, 2016 when the Ichabods swept the Mustangs in Lee Arena.
Sioux Falls Cougars
>> The Cougars look to build on their 17-11 (12-8 NSIC) season after falling just short of the conference tournament a year ago.
>> Heading into this season, Sioux Falls was picked 11th in the NSIC preseason coaches poll and sophomore Jordan Kuper earned a place on the league's watch list.
>> As a freshman, Kuper started all 28 matches and was second on the team in kills with 248 with a .343 attacking percentage and a team-high 121 total blocks, including 19 solo stops. She was named to the NSIC second team last year.
>> The team consists of 14 underclassmen and three seniors.
>> The 2022 season will be Dan Mathews' second season as the Cougars' head coach.
>> Washburn and Sioux Falls have never played each other.
2021 SEASON REWIND …
>> The Ichabods made history multiple times in their 31-6 (17-3 MIAA) season in 2021.
>> They were ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time in program history and held the top-ranking for four weeks (Sept. 20-Oct. 11).
>> Prior to that season, Washburn had defeated a No. 1-ranked team three times during Herron's tenure ... last fall, the Ichabods defeated two top-ranked teams on the road (UNK - Sept. 18; UCM - Dec. 3).
>> WU finished the season leading the nation in kills per set (15.00 kills/set), team kills (1,905), and assists (1,720) while also finishing third and recording a single season program-best in hitting percentage (.284) and fourth in assists per set (13.54 assists/set).
>> Washburn finished ranked at No. 2 in the AVCA national poll - its highest finish ever.
>> Individually, Washburn had a program-high four players earn AVCA All-American honors as Allison Maxwell, Genna Berg, Kelsey Gordon, and Faith Rottinghaus all earned an award.
>> A program-best eight Ichabods received all-MIAA accolades with five first-team selections, tying a WU record for first team conference honors.
>> Rottinghaus, Washburn's all-time digs leader, finished the season leading the nation with 833 total digs and was third in DII with 6.56 digs per set.
>> Maxwell finished the season fifth in the nation hitting .413, the highest single season attacking percentage ever for Washburn.
>> Setter Allison Sadler totaled 1,368 assists, good for fourth in Division II.
>> For the second-consecutive season, Berg led the Ichabods in kills. Her 475 total kills this season landed her fourth in the nation.
>> Rottinghaus, who earned the NCAA DII Volleyball Elite 90 Award and was the CoSIDA Volleyball Academic All-America Team Member of the Year, was named the MIAA Ken B. Jones Female Student-Athlete of the Year and was the conference nominee for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award.
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> The Ichabods are set for one more non-conference road tournament and will head to Cleveland, Tenn. for the Lee Invitational that will take place Sept. 2-3.
