TOPEKA, Kan. -- Sixth-ranked Washburn volleyball will play its next five matches on the road first starting with a southern trip down to Central Oklahoma in Edmond, Okla. on Thursday and then Newman in Wichita, Kan. on Friday.

FIRST SERVE …
>> Washburn holds an 11-1 overall record and is 3-1 in MIAA action after going 1-1 last week with a sweep at Emporia State before falling in four sets to then-ranked No. 13 Northwest Missouri.
>> Central Oklahoma also suffered its first loss last Saturday, falling to previously-ranked No. 8 Nebraska-Kearney, and now holds a 13-1 record and 3-1 mark in conference play.
>> Newman heads into the week with a 6-7 (1-3 MIAA) record after falling in its last three-straight matches.

QUICK HITS …
>> Last season, Washburn did not drop a set en route to picking up a combined four victories against Central Oklahoma and Newman.
>> Head Coach Chris Herron is 13-7 all-time against UCO and a perfect 10-0 against NU.
>> The Ichabods are 9-0 this year when playing away from home, going 7-0 in neutral site matches and 2-0 in true road matches.
>> Washburn has led its opponent in team kills in every match this season except one ... in the match against Montevallo earlier this year, the Falcons finished with a 49-47 advantage in kills.
>> In Coach Herron's tenure, Washburn is 448-33 after winning the first set.

LAST TIME OUT …
>> Wasburn lost its first match of the season, falling to No. 13 Northwest Missouri, 3-1 (24-26, 14-25, 25-21, and 22-25).
>> The entire match saw 22 tie scores and nine lead changes ... in the first set alone, there were 14 ties and four lead changes.
>> Both teams hit below .200 in the match as Northwest Missouri finished at .168 and Washburn was held to a season-low .152 attacking percentage.
>> Jalyn Stevenson notched her third double-double of the year and led the Ichabods with 10 kills while also adding a career-best 20 digs.
>> Austin Broadie and Ella Waters had eight kills each.
>> Corinna McMullen and Sydney Conner had 21 and 20 assists, respectively.
>> Sydney Pullen scooped up 24 digs and had five assists.

TEAM LEADERS …
>> As a team, the Ichabods rank second among MIAA programs with a .245 attacking percentage and are third with 13.42 kills per set.
>> WU has landed a conference-high 94 service aces for a 2.19 ace per set average.
>> Washburn has also held its opponents to a .146 hitting percentage, the third-lowest opponent attacking percentage in the league ... the Ichabods have held seven opponents to hitting .150 or lower.
>> The Ichabods have outscored their opponents, 1,029-805, after playing 43 sets.
>> Stevenson is eighth in the league with 125 total kills and has recorded double-figure kills in seven matches ... she also averages 2.28 digs per set and is second on the team with 17 aces.
>> Meister is second in the conference and 18th in the nation with a .408 hitting percentage and has 107 kills ... she is also second on the team in total blocks with 30.
>> Broadie has recorded at least two kills in each of the 12 matches she's played and is third on the team with 73 total kills.
>> Through four conference matches, Broadie has totaled 36 kills and 19 blocks.
>> Kealy Kiviniemi has 52 kills and a .304 attacking percentage ... she added six kills against NWMSU.
>> Samantha Moburg and Kassidy Pfeiffer both have 46 kills so far this year.
>> Pfeiffer is fifth in the league in both blocks (1.00 bps) and hitting percentage (.369).
>> In the back court, Pullen leads the team with 179 total digs (4.26 digs per set) ... she has also recorded back-to-back matches with five assists.
>> Sophie McMullen is close behind with 147 digs (3.42 digs/set) and has a .974 reception percentage after receiving 147 out of 151 serves that have come her way ... behind the service line, she has 26 aces.
>> C. McMullen has made all 12 starts at setter and leads the team with 258 assists (6.00 assists/set) ... like her sister, she has also helped WU in the serving game and has 16 aces.
>> Sharing the role of setter is Sydney Conner, who has tallied 194 assists (4.51 assists/set).

IN THE RANKINGS …
>> After losing its first match of the season, Washburn fell four places in the latest national AVCA rankings to No. 6.
>> 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-20 and Central Oklahoma is receiving votes for the second week ... seven of the top-10 teams are from the Central Region.
>> The Ichabods have now been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 for 43 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 nearing the 400 milestone for her career in two categories as she needs 12 more kills and 43 more digs.
>> In her first official season, Broadie is 27 kills away from 100.
>> Conner is six assists away from 200 this season.

HEAD COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 21st year leading Washburn and holds a record of 573-114 (.835) while going 268-64 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 ...
Central Oklahoma Bronchos
>> After turning in a 19-10 (12-8) season last year and a loss in the first round of the MIAA Tournament, the Bronchos started this year with 13-straight wins.
>> The team ranks in the top-three in all of Division II in digs (1,015/first), kills (755/second), assists (685/third), and digs per set (19.15/third).
>> The underclassmen trio of Sydney Huck, Jaedynn Evans, and Lindsey Houran swept the MIAA Athlete of the Week awards in back-to-back weeks and they each rank in the top-four in their respective statistical categories.
>> Houran has guided the Broncho offense and leads the nation in total assists (606) and is third in DII with 11.43 assists per set ... the freshman setter also adds 2.70 digs per set, 11 total blocks, nine service aces, and 44 kills.
>> Libero Evans, who is a sophomore, has a nation-best digs per set average (6.66 digs/set) as well as the most digs in all Division II (343) ... she has also achieved a .978 reception percentage after sucessfully passing 261 out of the 267 total serves that have come her way.
>> Huck, a freshman, is fourth in the nation with 218 total kills ... she averages a league-best 4.36 kills per set.
>> She has recorded double-figure kills in 10 of the 13 matches with half of those being with 20+ kills.
>> Huck also leads the team with 18 service aces and is second on the team with 147 digs.
>> Edgar Miraku is in his 11th year at the helm for UCO and has compiled a record of 236-84.
Series History
>> These two teams have played 25 times since 1995 and WU leads the series, 16-9.
>> The Ichabods have won the last five in a row and the last four have been shutout wins.
>> UCO holds a slight advantage when playing at home against Washburn, 6-5.

Newman Jets
>> The Jets went 9-17 (5-15 MIAA) last year and are currently 6-7 (1-3 MIAA) to start 2022.
>> After 13 matches played, Newman averages 12.7 kills per set and has a .184 hitting percentage.
>> The team is third in the league in blocks per set (2.16 bps) and Ozioma Ajekwu has helped that total as she is second in the MIAA with 1.13 bps and 62 total blocks, including 23 solo blocks.
>> Riley Daugherty paces the offense with 170 total kills, good for a 3.09 kills per set average (sixth in the MIAA) ... she als has a .985 reception percentage and has committed just four errors in 272 total attempts.
>> Ozioma is third on the team with 135 kills and is hitting a team-high .309.
>> The defensive effort is led by Natalie Morales, who has 273 digs for a 4.96 digs per set average.
>> Marisa Compton is in her first season as the head coach at Newman.
Series History
>> The Ichabods on a 12-match winning streak against the Jets and lead the overall series, 22-7.
>> During that winning stretch, the Ichabods have dropped only two sets and have recorded 10 sweep victories.
>> Washburn has never lost on Newman's home court with a perfect 7-0 record.

TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> The Ichabods will stay on the road through next week and head to Missouri Southern on Sept. 30 and Pittsburg State on Oct. 1.