TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 2-ranked Washburn volleyball team will host another top-15 matchup, this time taking on No. 13-ranked Northwest Missouri on Saturday evening. First serve in Lee Arena is slated for 6 p.m.

FIRST SERVE …
>> Washburn is 11-0 overall with three MIAA victories to start the year.
>> The Bearcats are currently 7-3 (1-1 MIAA) and will play Emporia State on Friday night before traveling to Topeka for Saturday's match.
>> Northwest Missouri last played on Sept. 9 in its home opener and swept Missouri Western.

QUICK HITS …
>> Last season, Northwest Missouri won all three meetings against Washburn ... the two teams finished the regular season tied for second in the MIAA standings with a 17-3 record.
>> Head Coach Chris Herron is 32-7 all-time against the Bearcats and 17-2 when playing NWMSU in Lee Arena.
>> In Herron's tenure, Washburn has gone 47-23 when playing ranked teams in Lee Arena ... the Ichabods defeated then-ranked No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday in Topeka.
>> NWMSU has gone 1-3 in true road matches so far and WU is 2-0 in Lee Arena this season.
>> Saturday's match will be the first time Sophie McMullen will face her former team as she was a four-year member of Northwest Missouri volleyball.
>> WU is one of 12 teams left in Division II without a loss ... fellow MIAA team, Central Oklahoma, is also included in that 12 count.
>> In 2021, Washburn went 9-6 against opponents ranked in the top-25 ... out of those 15 matches, nine of them were against teams ranked in the top-10.
>> The Ichabods' 11-straight wins to begin the year is the most since Washburn started the 2018 season 22-0.
>> Washburn is 657-361 since joining the MIAA in 1989 ... WU has gone 53-8 in MIAA action since 2018.

LAST TIME OUT …
>> Wasburn picked up its sixth sweep victory of the season on Tuesday with a 3-0 decision at Emporia State (25-16, 25-15, and 25-17).
>> After starting the match slowly, Washburn won 14 of the final 16 points to take set one.
>> Washburn never trailed in the second set.
>> In the third set, the Ichabods finished strong again and won 11 of the last 14 points and the offense hit a collective .517. with 16 kills and five aces in the final game.
>> WU hit a season-high .361 overall in the match compared to ESU's .163 and led in kills (42-35), aces (10-3), and blocks (5-1).
>> Eleven Ichabods recorded at least one kill in the match and were paced by Austin Broadie's 10 kills and .500 hitting percentage.
>> Jalyn Stevenson registered nine kills and Halle Meister added eight kills on 12 swings with zero errors for a .667 attacking percentage.

TEAM LEADERS …
>> Through 11 matches, the Ichabods rank in the top-three in the MIAA in four offensive categories: aces (2.33 per set/1st), hitting percentage (.257/2nd), kills per set (13.44/2nd), and assists per set (12.28/3rd).
>> WU has landed 91 service aces, which is nearly 20 more than Central Oklahoma in second with 72.
>> The Ichabods have outscored their opponents, 944-708, after playing 39 sets.
>> Stevenson is eighth in the league with 115 total kills and has recorded double-figure kills in six matches ... she also averages 2.0 digs per set and is second on the team with 17 aces.
>> Meister is second in the conference and 15th in the nation with a .429 hitting percentage and has an even 100 kills ... she has had eight matches hitting above .400.
>> Meister is also second on the team in total blocks with 27.
>> Broadie has started three matches and has double-digit kills in each of thos ... she has knocked down 10 kills in back-to-back matches.
>> For the season, Broadie has 65 kills and 19 blocks.
>> Kealy Kiviniemi and Samantha Moburg are tied with 46 kills.
>> Kassidy Pfeiffer is fourth in the league averaging 1.00 blocks per set and is also fifth in the MIAA with a .374 hitting percentage.
>> Libero Sydney Pullen leads the team with 155 total digs (4.08 digs per set).
>> S. McMullen is close behind with 135 digs (3.46 digs/set) and has a .971 reception percentage after receiving 136 out of 140 serves that have come her way ... she has a team-high 24 service aces and has landed at least one ace in 10 of the 11 matches.
>> Corinna McMullen has made all 11 starts at setter and leads the team with 237 assists (6.08 assists/set) and also averages 1.92 digs per set.
>> Sharing the role of setter is Sydney Conner, who has tallied 174 assists (4.46 assists/set).

IN THE RANKINGS …
>> For the fourth-consecutive week, Washburn checked in as the No. 2-ranked team in the AVCA national poll on Sept. 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-16 and Central Oklahoma is receiving votes ... 11 of the top-25 are from the Central Region.
>> The Ichabods have now been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 for 42 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 17, 2018.
>> Washburn has also been ranked in the top-five in 31 of the last 33 weeks...the Ichabods were ranked eighth in the 2021 AVCA preseason poll and checked in at No. 6 on Nov. 22, 2021.
>> 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 22 kills shy from reaching 400 in her career.
>> Pullen needs six more digs to eclipse 400.
>> Conner is 26 assists away from 200 this season.

HEAD COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 21st year leading Washburn and holds a record of 573-113 (.835) while going 268-63 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 573 victories, 380 of those have come in three sets and he is 380-44 in three set matches.

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Northwest Missouri Bearcats
>> The Bearcats went 26-6 (17-3 MIAA) and reached the NCAA postseason for just the second time in program history last year and finished in the Central Region quarterfinals with a five-set loss to Nebraska-Kearney.
>> Northwest Missouri was voted the favorite in this year's MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll as the team returned 12 from last year's squad, including MIAA Freshman of the Year Payton Kirchhoefer and all-MIAA honorees Alyssa Rezac (first team), Jaden Ferguson (second team), and Abby Brunssen (honorable mention).
>> The Bearcats have had a tough schedule to begin 2022 as they have already faced five teams ranked in the top-20 ... they have a 3-2 record in those matches.
>> Heading into the weekend, NWMSU is third in the league with a .250 attacking percentage and the team averages 12.92 kills per set.
>> Ferguson leads the offense with 93 kills (2.51 kills/set) and is hitting .320 ... she is also second on the team with 35 total blocks.
>> Brunssen averages 1.16 blocks per set, ranking second in the MIAA.
>> In the back court, Kristen Ford leads the team with 153 digs (4.14 digs/set) and has a .962 reception percentage after successfully passing 128 out of 133 service attempts.
>> Amy Woerth is in her 10th year as the head coach and has compiled a record of 161-115 heading into this season.
>> These two programs first played in 1976 and Washburn leads the all-time series, 50-23.
>> The Ichabods are 25-5 when playing the Bearcats in Topeka.

TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> The Ichabods will travel south next week to play at Central Oklahoma (Thursday, Sept. 22) and Newman (Friday, Sept. 23).