TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 2-ranked Washburn volleyball will begin MIAA play for its home opening weekend as the Ichabods host Fort Hays State on Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. and No. 7 Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 10 at 2 p.m.
FIRST SERVE …
>> Washburn is 8-0 after posting wins at two non-conference tournaments to start the season.
>> The Tigers are 5-3 on the young season and are coming off a 2-2 weekend at the Denton Volleyfest Tournament.
>> The Lopers are undefeated at 9-0 and swept through the Kentucky Wesleyan Invite last weekend.
QUICK HITS …
>> The Ichabods are 655-361 since joining the MIAA in 1989 ... WU has gone 50-8 in MIAA action since 2018.
>> Washburn went 14-2 when playing in the friendly confines of Lee Arena last year.
>> The Ichabods' last home match was a 3-0 decision over Pittsburg State in the MIAA Quarterfinal on Nov. 16, 2016.
>> WU has gone 18-1 in home openers since Head Coach Chris Herron took over the program ... the one loss occurred in 2017 against Arkansas Tech.
>> 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.
>> There are currently 24 teams in Division II that remain unbeaten in 2022 ... Washburn and Nebraska-Kearney are two of them.
>> Last season, the Ichabods swept the Tigers twice ... once in the conference-opener on Sept. 17 (25-19, 25-19, and 25-20) and then again on Oct. 19 (25-19, 25-14, and 25-18).
>> FHSU was voted seventh in the 2022 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
>> The Ichabods defeated the Lopers both times they faced last season, marking the third time in Herron's tenure that Washburn had posted back-to-back wins against UNK.
>> Washburn beat then-ranked No. 1 Nebraska-Kearney on its home court in four sets (25-22, 25-20, 21-25, and 25-16) before sweeping the Lopers less than a month later in Topeka, all by the set score of 25-22.
>> The Ichabods have swept the Lopers only two times in program history: Sept. 25, 2015 and Oct. 12, 2021.
>> In this fall's MIAA preseason poll, UNK was tied alongside WU and UCM for second on the list.
LAST TIME OUT …
>> Washburn closed out its non-conference schedule with four victories at the Lee Invitational.
>> WU swept host team Lee University and Trevecca Nazarene and defeated both Montevallo and Saint Leo in four sets.
>> The Ichabods hit a combined a .284 while limiting their opponents to a .205 clip.
>> In the win over Lee, 11 different Ichabods recorded at least one kill.
>> Halle Meister hit .500 or higher in three of the four matches.
>> Three Ichabods were named to the 10 player All-Tournament team as Meister was the tournament MVP, Corinna McMullen was dubbed the Top Freshman, and Sydney Pullen was also an All-Tournament selection.
TEAM LEADERS … OFFENSIVELY
>> Through eight matches, the Ichabods are hitting .257 and averaging 13.1 kills per set.
>> The Ichabods have outscored their opponents, 659-475, after playing 27 sets.
>> Jalyn Stevenson has started all eight contests and leads the team with 79 kills (2.93 kills per set) ... she has already had four matches with 10 or more kills.
>> Meister is second in the MIAA and 14th in Division II with a .469 attacking percentage and has 71 total kills ... in limited playing time prior to this year, she tallied 34 kills combined in the past three seasons.
>> Against Saint Leo, Meister knocked down a career-high 16 kills and hit .565 for the match.
>> Samantha Moburg has compiled 40 kills and Bella Limback and Austin Broadie have chipped in 37 kills each.
>> Limback has made six starts and recorded 10 kills against the Lions.
>> Broadie made her first collegiate start against Montevallo and had 11 kills ... she has recorded at least two kills in all eight matches so far.
>> Kassidy Pfeiffer has started five of the seven matches she's played and has 32 kills ... against Saint Leo, she had a sizzling .632 attacking percentage after recording 12 kills on 19 attempts and zero errors.
>> C. McMullen and Sydney Conner have guided the Washburn offense at the setter position and totaled 155 assists (5.74 assists/set) and 122 assists (4.52 assists/set), respectively.
TEAM LEADERS ... DEFENSIVELY
>> Defensively, the Ichabods average 14.9 digs per set, 1.5 blocks per set, and have a .938 reception percentage.
>> Pullen leads the back row with 109 digs for a 4.19 digs per set average and S. McMullen is second on the team with 86 digs (3.19 digs/set).
>> Stevenson has a .953 reception percentage after successfully receiving 184 out of 193 service attempts ... she recorded the first double-double of the season for Washburn against Montevallo when she registered 14 kills and 11 digs.
>> At the net, Pfeiffer leads the team with 19 total blocks and has made three solo stops ... she has had at least one block in every match so far.
>> Meister has been a part of nine blocks and made two on her own for 11 total blocks.
ACES HIGH
>> Washburn is averaging 2.6 aces per set and has recorded 71 service aces, ranking 14th in the nation ... WU had 159 aces last season in 37 matches.
>> The Ichabods have had four matches in double-figure aces so far this year ... in 2021, Washburn had one match with double-digit aces after landing 10 at Missouri Southern on Nov. 6.
>> The Ichabods are first among MIAA teams in total aces, and have 13 more than Emporia State and Nebraska-Kearney in second.
>> S. McMullen's is 11th in Division II with her 21 aces ... she had 13 at the Lee Invitational last weekend.
>> The McMullen sister duo recorded 10 of Washburn's 14 service aces against Saint Leo as they landed five apiece.
>> Stevenson has 14 aces to her name and C. McMullen is close behind with 13.
IN THE RANKINGS …
>> For the third-consecutive week, Washburn checked in as the No. 2-ranked team in the AVCA national poll on Sept. 5.
>> The Ichabods have now been ranked in the AVCA Top-25 for 41 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 17, 2018.
>> Washburn has also been ranked in the top-five in 30 of the last 32 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.
>> Washburn finished tied for second with Northwest Missouri in the 2021 MIAA standings.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Stevenson is 58 kills shy from reaching 400 in her career.
>> Chloe Paschal needs 45 more digs to eclipse 200.
>> The freshmen setter duo are closing in on 200 assists each already as C. McMullen needs 45 more and Conner is 78 away.
HEAD COACH CHRIS HERRON …
>> Chris Herron is in his 21st year leading Washburn and holds a record of 570-113 (.835) 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 570 victories, 379 of those have come in three sets and he is 379-44 in three set matches.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Fort Hays State Tigers
>> The FHSU Tigers went 13-17 (7-13 MIAA) last season and competed in the MIAA Tournament for the first time in five five years.
>> The team returned all three of its all-MIAA honorable mention award winners in Morgan Christiansen, Claire Olson, and Riley Tender.
>> So far this season, Fort Hays has a .176 attacking percentage with 12.9 kills per set and has held its opponents to a .138 hitting mark.
>> Tinder has picked up where she left off and leads the team with 89 kills (3.30 kills/set) and is second on the squad in digs with 89 total (3.30 digs/set).
>> Elysia Glowacz and Jaida Felix have split time at the setter position and have recorded 158 and 138 assists, respectively.
>> Libero Jaden Daffer has scooped up a team-high 130 digs (4.64 digs/set) and has a .985 reception percentage after committing only two reception errors in 28 sets played.
>> The Tigers are led by Jessica Wood-Atkins in her fifth year, who has compiled a record of 28-60 in three official seasons.
>> Washburn is on an 11-match winning streak against Fort Hays State and leads the all-time series, 51-46.
>> WU is also 25-10 when playing FHSU in Topeka.
Nebraska-Kearney Lopers
>> The Lopers went 26-7 (15-5 MIAA) in 2021 and reached the NCAA Central Region semifinal before falling to Concordia-St. Paul.
>> Although UNK graduated all-MIAA first teamers and All-American sister duo of Anna Squiers and Maddie Squiers, the Lopers return all-league first team selection Emersen Cyza and second team honorees Bailee Sterling, Lauren Taubenheim, and CeCe Beahm.
>> After nine winning matches so far this year, Nebraska-Kearney is first among MIAA teams with a .311 attacking percentage and has held opponents to a conference-low .103.
>> UNK has also outscored its opponents, 704-466, while recording eight shutout victories.
>> Cyza leads the team with 87 kills (3.22 kills/set) and has a .338 attacking percentage.
>> Fallon Stuthelt is hitting an MIAA-best .517 on the year, which also ranks fourth in Division II, with 64 kills and just four errors on 116 attempts ... she has also made 20 total blocks with five solo stops at the net.
>> Rick Squiers is in his 23rd year at the helm for Nebraska-Kearney and held a 701-96 record coming into this season.
>> Nebraska-Kearney leads the series 37-14, but Washburn has won the last two meetings.
>> The Ichabods hold a 7-5 record advantage when playing the Lopers in Topeka.
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 continues MIAA play next week and will travel to Emporia State on Sept. 13 before returning home to take on Northwest Missouri on Sept. 17.
