TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 2-ranked Washburn volleyball will wrap up its non-conference tournament schedule this weekend in Tennessee at the Lee Invitational.
FIRST SERVE …
>> On Friday, the Ichabods will face tournament-host team Lee (11:45 a.m. CT) and later Montevallo (3:45 p.m. CT) before wrapping up the tournament on Saturday against Saint Leo (8:30 a.m. CT) and Trevecca Nazarene (12:15 p.m. CT).
>> The Ichabods are 4-0 to start the season after competing at the UNK Fall Classic last weekend.
LEE INVITATIONAL …
>> All tournament matches will have a video live stream and live stats.
>> The six team tournament will feature participants from five different conferences. Lee and Montevallo represent the Gulf South Conference, Washburn is the lone team from the MIAA, Saint Leo is from the Sunshine State Conference, and Trevecca Nazarene is from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
>> The one team the Ichabods do not face but who are also at the tournament is Erskine College, from the South Atlantic Conference.
>> The Ichabods have never played three of the four teams they are set to face this upcoming weekend.
LAST TIME OUT …
>> Washburn picked up four wins and only dropped one set at the UNK Fall Classic to open the season.
>> WU swept Central Washington, Minot State, and Midwestern State before closing out the tournament with a four set win over Sioux Falls.
>> The Ichabods held all four opponents to a hitting percentage below .200 while limiting Minot State to a .000 attacking percentage and Midwestern State to .033 clip.
>> In the win over Minot State, 10 different Ichabods had at least one kill.
>> WU outscored its opponents 319-216.
>> Washburn's Halle Meister, Sydney Pullen, and Jalyn Stevenson were named to the All-Tournament team.
TEAM LEADERS …
>> Through four matches, the Ichabods are hitting .284 and averaging 15.0 kills per set, 1.3 aces per set, 13.5 digs per set, and 1.8 blocks per set.
>> Stevenson leads the offense with 37 kills (2.85 kills/set) and defensively, is second on the team with 29 digs (2.23 digs/set) and in total blocks with seven.
>> Stevenson also holds a .979 reception percentage after receiving 94 out of 96 service attempts.
>> Meister leads the team hitting .438 and is second on the team with 27 kills...she landed a career-high 13 against Sioux Falls.
>> Samantha Moburg is up to 23 kills and collected a career-best eight kills against both Central Washington and Sioux Falls.
>> Stepping into the libero position this season, Pullen has racked up 58 digs (4.46 digs/set) and has a clean 1.000 reception percentage on 44 chances.
>> At the net, middle blocker Kassidy Pfeiffer leads the team with nine total blocks...she was a part of five against Midwestern State.
WU DEBUT ...
>> Nine of the 15 Ichabods that played last weekend made their Washburn debut on the court.
>> Freshman Bella Limback (13 kills & five blocks) started all four matches while fellow first-year Ichabod Iyannah Jackson (11 kills & seven blocks) made three starts.
>> Jackson had a sizzling .700 attacking percentage with eight kills on 10 attempts and one error in her first match.
>> After redshirting last year, Austin Broadie made her first appearance last week and totaled 17 kills, including six against Sioux Falls.
>> Kealy Kiviniemy knocked down 14 kills.
>> In her first collegiate match, Ella Waters had four kills on five attempts with zero errors and added two block assists.
>> After donning the green and white at Northwest Missouri for four years, Sophie McMullen made four starts in the navy and white for Washburn.
>> The six newcomer Ichabod hitters combined for 63 kills.
>> The setter position also saw two freshmen as Corinna McMullen and Sydney Conner split duties...McMullen finished the weekend with 72 assists (5.54 assists/set) and Conner had 55 (4.23 assists/set).
ACES HIGH
>> The Ichabods recorded 33 service aces last week while surrendering only seven to opponents.
>> Washburn had 12 service aces from eight different players against Minot State.
>> Against Sioux Falls, Washburn had 13 service aces, which is tied for the ninth-most aces in a single match in program history.
>> In that match against the Cougars, Stevenson had five aces and S. McMullen added four.
>> Stevenson tallied 10 service aces at the conclusion of the weekend...she was second on the team last year with 32.
>> McMullen is second on the squad now with eight service aces.
IN THE RANKINGS …
>> For the second-consecutive week, Washburn checked in as the No. 2-ranked team in the AVCA national poll.
>> The Ichabods have now been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 for 40 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 17, 2018.
>> Washburn has also been ranked in the top-five in 29 of the last 31 weeks...the Ichabods were ranked eighth in the 2021 AVCA preseason poll and checked in at No. 6 on Nov. 22.
>> 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.
>> Washburn finished tied for second with Northwest Missouri in the 2021 MIAA standings.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Stevenson landed 37 kills last week and sits at exactly 300 in her career.
>> Chloe Paschal needs 46 more digs to eclipse 200.
>> C. McMullen is already 28 assists away from her first 100 as an Ichabod.
HEAD COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 21st year leading Washburn and holds a record of 566-113 (.834) while going 265-63 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 566 victories, 377 of those have come in three sets and he is 377-44 in three set matches.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Lee Flames
>> The Flames finished out the 2021 season with a 7-20 (5-11 GSC) record and are 1-3 to start the new season.
>> After four matches at the Queens Invitational, Lee is hitting .019 with 8.3 kills per set and averages 10.7 digs per set.
>> Senior Abby Stroh led the team in the season-opening tournament last week as she totaled 39 kills and 36 digs to go with four blocks.
>> Macy Petty was second on the team's offense in kills and landed 16,
>> Callie Tabisz begins her second season leading the Lee volleyball squad.
>> These two teams have never faced each other.
Montevallo Falcons
>> The Falcons reached the Gulf South Conference tournament championship match last year and finished the season 21-14 (9-7 GSC).
>> UM was voted third in the 2022 league preseason poll and returning All-GSC second team selection, Allie Dishman, was named to the Preseason All-GSC first team.
>> Last year, Dishman led the Falcons with 35 service aces, finished second in blocks with 91 and was third in kills with 271...she already has 44 kills after the first weekend of competition.
>> Montevallo is 1-3 to start 2022 and have a .151 attacking percentage and average 12.1 kills per set.
>> Montevllo is led by Katie O'Brien in her 15th season...she holds a record of 105-84 with the Falcons.
>> Washburn has only played Montevallo twice, once in 1998 and the most recent in 2007, and WU won both matchups.
Saint Leo Lions
>> Saint Leo went 12-19 overall and 6-14 in a tough Sunshine State Conference in 2021.
>> The Lions finished the UMSL Triton Invitational last weekend with a split, picking up wins over Emporia State and Southern Arkansas.
>> SLU has a .178 hitting percentage and averages 11.3 kills per set and has totaled 26 blocks.
>> Ally-Reese Williams has been the offensive leader so far as she knocked down 41 kills (2.73 kills/set).
>> Natalia Koryzna will start her second season as the head coach of the Lions.
>> Washburn has never played a match against Saint Leo.
Trevecca Nazarene Trojans
>> Trevecca Nazarene reached the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal match and finished the year 19-11 (9-7 GMAC).
>> The Trojans (4-1) suffered their first loss of the season on Tuesday evening in a four set decision against Union.
>> TNU is hitting .265 and averages 12.5 kills per set, 15.33 digs per set, 1.39 blocks per set, and 2.06 aces per set so far this year.
>> The team has several offensive threats led by Ellie Buffler's 63 kills (3.5 kills/set) and 12 service aces...she is also second on the team with 51 digs
>> Emma Titus has a .330 attacking persentage and 50 total kills and eight blocks, including two solo stops.
>> Setter Emilee McDonald is averaging 8.83 assists per set and has also recorded 42 digs, 22 kills, five blocks, and four aces.
>> Head Coach Emily Moore has been leading the Trojans since 2019 and has a 40-36 record heading into the season.
>> These two programs 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 …
>> Washburn will begin the MIAA schedule at home next weekend against Fort Hays State on Sept. 9 and Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 10.
