TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 25 Washburn begins a three week stack of road matches this week against Fort Hays State on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
SETTING THE SCHEDULE …
>> Washburn volleyball heads back on the road for three straight matches beginning out west against Fort Hays State on Tuesday.
>> The Ichabods face the Tigers at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24.
>> Washburn went 1-2 last week, splitting the last two matches of the week at home first with a 3-0 loss to Central Missouri and followed by a 3-1 win against Missouri Southern to end the week.
QUICK HITS …
>> Washburn is now 14-6 on the year and 8-5 in the MIAA
>> The Ichabods sits tied for fourth place in the MIAA at 8-4 this season. They are tied with Missouri Western. Central Missouri leads the conference with a 12-2 mark on the year.
>> After going 2-1 last week Washburn moved down in the AVCA Coaches Poll for week eight to No. 25. They have been ranked in every poll this season.
>> The Ichabods were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll just behind Central Oklahoma and one spot ahead of Central Missouri.
>> Washburn finished fifth in the 2022 MIAA regular season standings.
>> Washburn is playing three road matches in conference play this week for the first time this season.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
>> Washburn after a 3-1 midweek loss to No. 8 Nebraska-Kearney the Ichabods finished the week losing 3-0 to Central Missouri and with a 3-1 win over Missouri Southern at home.
>> The Ichabods are now 3-4 on the road in 2023 and 9-2 at home.
>> Washburn has eight sweeps this season.
>> With the four set victory the Ichabods snapped a short two-match losing skid.
>> Jalyn Stevenson had double-digit kills in both matches, finishing the week off with a 17 kill effort on Saturday while hitting .239 and making 13 digs for a double-double.
>> Rachel Schwensen was second in kills in both matches with a combined 18 on the week while hitting over .250 in both matches as well.
>> Corinna McMullen had a double-double with a team-high 21 assists paired with 12 digs against the Lions.
>> Maddie Steiner and Sydney Conner each led Washburn with 17 digs in the win over MSU.
>> Washburn held Missouri Southern to just .013 hitting and helped force 30 attack errors in the match. The Ichabods only needed to hit .154 in the win.
STACKING UP THE STATS
>> The Ichabods are knocking down 13.5 kills per set, picking up 12.6 assists, making 17.3 digs and stuffing 2.1 attacks.
>> Opponents are netting 11.5 kills per set, 10.7 assists, 15.7 digs and 2.3 blocks.
>> Washburn is hitting .230 as a team through 20 matches while opponents are hitting .167
>> The Ichabods have 136 aces on the year (1.9 per set) while only allowing 73 (1.0 per set).
>> Washburn is third inthe conference in hitting percentage at .230 for the year
>> The Ichabods passing attack rates third in the MIAA with 12.6 assists per set
>> The defense sits at fourth among conference foes at 17.40 digs per set
>> Washburn is second in the MIAA in aces per set at 1.81
>> When the Ichabods outkill their opponents they are 14-1
>> When Washburn collects more digs than opponents they are 12-2
>> The Ichabods are 14-1 when they have more assists than oppoennts.
>> Corinna McMullen leads all players in the conference with .53 aces per set.
>> Jalyn Stevenson is fourth in the MIAA in kills per set at 3.29 as well as fourth in third per set with 3.80.
>> Bella Limback and Rachel Schwensen are both in the top-five in hitting percentage in the MIAA with Schwensen at No. 2 and Limback at No. 5.
TEAM LEADERS
>> Jalyn Stevenson leads Washburn with 235 kills on the year (3.31 per set) while hitting .223. She is second on the team with 211 digs (2.97 per set) and has combined for 18 blocks.
>> Rachel Schwensen is up to 204 kills (2.87 per set) and is hitting .321 with only 43 errors on 501 attempts. She is also tied for second on the team with 49 total blocks.
>> Corinna McMullen leads the Ichabods with 434 assists (6.11 per set) and is third with 201 digs (2.83 per set). She leads the Ichabods with 39 aces on the year.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus leads Washburn with 271 digs (4.17 per set) while adding 61 assists and holding a .948 reception percentage on 268 receptions.
>> Rylee Unruh is third on the team with 142 kills (2.00 per set) and has done a little bit of everything, adding 19 aces, 181 digs (2.55 per set) and has been apart of 26 blocks.
>> Austin Broadie has knocked down 133 kills (1.93 per set) while carrying a hitting percentage of .234. She is tied for second with 49 total blocks and leads with seven solo blocks.
>> Bella Limback has 104 kills on the year (1.51 per set) while hitting .326, the highest among qualified players. She has the most blocks of any Washburn player with 68 total (.99 per set) and has recorded 46 digs.
>> Sydney Conner has chipped in 330 assists (4.65 per set) and 135 digs (1.90 per set) and has 19 aces on 242 attempts.
>> Taryn Pridgett has made 51 kills (1.55 per set) while hitting .190. She has combined to make 15 blocks.
>> Iyannah Jackson has chipped in 44 kills across 35 sets while also combining to make 31 blocks.
>> Sophia Cavanaugh has 19 kills on the year, she also has seven blocks
>> Maddie Steiner has made 59 digs on the year (1.51 per set).
BY THE NUMBERS …
>> 2 : NCAA Central Region championships won by Washburn in the past four official seasons.
>> 4 : upperclassmen on this year's team ... the fewest since the 2014 roster also featuring four
>> 8 : Number of sweeps for the Ichabods this season
>> 10 : student-athletes who were on the roster last year who are not on the 2022 roster
>> 20 : consecutive winning seasons for Washburn.
>> 122 : consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match
>> 600 : wins that Herron has at Washburn.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Bella Limback is 15 blocks away from 100 in her career
>> Jalyn Stevenson needs two more blocks for 100 in her career.
>> Sydney Conner is 109 assists away from 1,000 career.
>> Corinna McMullen is 10 digs away from 500 in her career
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Fort Hays State Tigers
>> The Tigers are 9-14 on the year with a 3-11 record in MIAA play.
>> They are 6-7 at home in 2023.
>> In 2022 Fort Hays State went 11-17 and 6-14 against MIAA competition while not qualifying for the MIAA Conference Championship
>> The Tigers are led by Jessica Wood-Atkins in her sixth season on the job, she is 123-149 in her nine plus year coaching career
>> Carolynne Barbosa and Giovanna Kuntze complete the coaching staff
>> As a team FHSU averages 11.7 kills per set while hitting .147, 10.8 assists, 2.3 blocks and 15 digs.
>> Gracie Rains has 239 kills on the season (2.95 per set) and is hitting .169 while doing so. She has also contributed to 38 blocks.
>> Riley Tinder has 194 kills for the Tigers (2.34 per set), she is second with 257 digs (3.10 per set)
>> Brooke Hyland's 330 digs (3.93 per set) lead Fort Hays State, she has a .956 reception percentage in 432 attempts and 17 aces.
>> Emily Ellis has 176 kills (2.12 per set) and hits a team high .233, she's also recorded 99 total blcoks this season to lead FHSU.
>> Washburn is 47-23 all-time against the Tigers going back to 1973. In the last 14 matches the Ichabods are undefeated aginst the Tigers, not losing since May, 2015.
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> Washburn finishes out its week on the road against Northwest Missouri State at 6 p.m. on Friday and Missouri Western at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
>> Senior night for the Ichabods is Nov. 4 against Pittsburg State at 2 p.m.
>> Washburn will finish the regular season on Nov. 11 at Newman
>> The MIAA Championship Tournament begins on Thursday Nov. 16.
