TOPEKA, KAN. -- No. 25 Washburn volleyball wraps up its final multi match road swing of the season this weekend against Northwest Missouri State on Friday at 6 p.m. and versus the Griffons on Saturday again at 6 p.m.
SETTING THE SCHEDULE …
>> Washburn volleyball finishes its three match road trip with two matches to the east against Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western.
>> The Ichabods face the Bearcats at 6 p.m. on Friday and the Griffons at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28.
>> Washburn began the week going went to face Fort Hays State where they lost in four sets by scores of 25-19, 17-25, 25-23 and 25-22.
QUICK HITS …
>> Washburn is now 14-7 on the year and 8-6 in the MIAA
>> The Ichabods now sit in fifth place in the MIAA this season with an 8-6 record, one game behind the Griffons and one ahead of the Bearcats.
>> 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.
>> After Tuesday's match began the week, Washburn is playing three road matches in conference play this week for the first time this season.
THE DAY THAT WAS
>> Washburn played its only match of the week in Kansas losing a 3-1 Tuesday night contest to Fort Hays State.
>> The Ichabods are now 3-5 on the road in 2023 and 9-2 at home.
>> Washburn has eight sweeps this season.
>> The Ichabods have lost back-to-back road matches and four of the last five.
>> Corinna McMullen paced WU in both assists and digs notching a double-double with 23 assists and 16 digs.
>> Jalyn Stevenson recorded a second straight double-double finishing with 11 kills and 10 digs against the Tigers.
>> Rylee Unruh led Washburn in kills finishing with 12 and hitting .250, she neared a double-double with nine digs.
>> Rachel Schwensen was in double figures with 11 kills but no other Ichabod had more than five.
>> Washburn never let Fort Hays State hit better than .211 in a set and held advantages in both kills and assists in the loss.
STACKING UP THE STATS
>> The Ichabods are knocking down 13.4 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, 15.8 digs and 2.3 blocks.
>> Washburn is hitting .225 as a team through 21 matches while opponents are hitting .167
>> The Ichabods have 146 aces on the year (1.9 per set) while only allowing 76 (1.0 per set).
>> Washburn is third in the conference in hitting percentage at .225 for the year
>> The Ichabods passing attack rates third in the MIAA with 12.59 assists per set
>> The defense sits at fourth among conference foes at 17.29 digs per set
>> Washburn is second in the MIAA in aces per set at 1.85
>> When the Ichabods outkill their opponents they are 14-2
>> When Washburn collects more digs than opponents they are 12-2
>> The Ichabods are 14-2 when they have more assists than oppoennts.
>> Corinna McMullen leads all players in the conference with .55 aces per set and is first overall with 41 total.
>> Jalyn Stevenson is fifth in the MIAA in kills per set at 3.28 as well as fourht in points per set at 3.75.
>> 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. 4.
TEAM LEADERS
>> Jalyn Stevenson leads Washburn with 246 kills on the year (3.28 per set) while hitting .218. She is second on the team with 222 digs (2.96 per set) and has combined for 20 blocks.
>> Rachel Schwensen is up to 215 kills (2.87 per set) and is hitting .313 with only 48 errors on 533 attempts. She is also third on the squad with 51 blocks.
>> Corinna McMullen leads the Ichabods with 456 assists (6.08 per set) and is third with 217 digs (2.89 per set). She leads the Ichabods with 41 aces on the year.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus leads Washburn with 277 digs (4.07 per set) while adding 62 assists and holding a .949 reception percentage on 277 receptions.
>> Rylee Unruh is third on the team with 154 kills (2.05 per set) and has done a little bit of everything, adding 20 aces, 190 digs (2.53 per set) and has been apart of 27 blocks.
>> Austin Broadie has knocked down 138 kills (1.89 per set) while carrying a hitting percentage of .223. She is second with 56 total blocks and leads with seven solos.
>> Bella Limback has 109 kills on the year (1.49 per set) while hitting .307. She has the most blocks of any Washburn player with 70 total (.96 per set) and has recorded 49 digs.
>> Sydney Conner has chipped in 351 assists (4.68 per set) and 138 digs (1.84 per set) and has 21 aces on 260 attempts.
>> Iyannah Jackson has chipped in 46 kills across 36 sets hitting a team best .330, as well as combining to make 33 blocks.
>> Maddie Steiner has made 73 digs on the year (1.70 per set).
>> Taryn Pridgett has made 55 kills (1.49 per set) while hitting .173. She has combined to make 17 blocks.
>> Sophia Cavanaugh has 19 kills on the year, she also has seven blocks
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 werea 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 13 blocks away from 100 in her career
>> Jalyn Stevenson is 105 kills away from 1,000 in her career.
>> Sydney Conner is 88 assists away from 1,000 career.
>> Taryn Pridgett needs just four more kills to reach 100 in her career.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Northwest Missouri State Bearcats
>> The Bearcats are 12-10 on the year after being swept by MWSU on Tuesday evening.
>> They are 7-7 in MIAA matches and 2-4 at home.
>> In 2022 Northwest Missouri went 24-7 overall and 17-3 in the MIAA, losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament to Washburn, and losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
>> The Bearcats are led by Amy Woerth in her 11th season at NWMSU. She was named the MIAA Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2022.
>> Assistant Coach Jacquie Cason and Graduate Assistant Kelly Wiedemann round out the staff.
>> The Bearcats are receiving votes in the latest AVCA poll.
>> NWMSU averages 12.8 kills per set on .196 hitting, 11.6 assists, 1.8 blocks and 17.1 digs.
>> Abby Brussen leads the Bearcats in kills with 195 (2.35 per set) and blocks with 76. She's also second on the team with a .302 hitting percentage.
>> Avery Kemp has 182 kills (2.56 per set) and hits a team high .302. She's second on the team with 51 blocks.
>> Ella Caffery has 595 assists for the Bearcats this year (9.02 per set) and has a team-high 25 aces. She also contributes 2.48 digs per set (164 total) and has helped out on 29 blocks.
>> Kyah Luhring has 364 digs for Northwest Missouri (4.28 per set) along with 73 assists and 13 aces.
>> Washburn is 50-23 all-time against the Bearcats going back to 1976. The Ichabods won 3-2 in Lee Arena earlier in the season.
Missouri Western State Griffons
>> Missouri Western is 16-7 overall on the year with a 9-5 record in MIAA play. They are 4-3 inside the MWSU Fieldhouse.
>> Last season the Griffons went 11-18 overall and 8-12 in the MIAA, losing in the first round of the conference tournament.
>> Former Ichabod volleyball All-American and assistant coach Jessic Fey is in her second season as head coach of Missouri Western.
>> Fey was inducted into the Washburn Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 7
>> Assistant coaches Izzy Enna and Ami Dias round out the coaching staff
>> As a team the Lions carry averages of 13.2 kills per set while hitting .207, 12.0 assists, 19.0 digs and 2.1 blocks.
>> Taylor Russell has 215 kills for Missouri Western (3.03 per set) and is hitting .284 on the year, both putting her second on the team. She has also contributed to 48 blocks.
>> Holly Heldt leads the Griffons with 244 kills (3.17 per set) and has 29 aces with 26 blocks.
>> Danielle Moje has 184 kills (2.39 per set) and hits a team high .295 along with 59 blocks.
>> Anna Weberg leads MWS scooping 411 digs (5.34 per set) with a 96.8% reception percentage and has added 78 assists.
>> Nessa Johnson paces the Griffons with 806 assists (10.47 per set) and is tied for a team high with 29 aces while chipping in 244 digs (3.17 per set).
>> Washburn is 46-38 all-time against Missouri Western going back to 1975. The Griffons beat the Ichabods 3-0 in Lee Arena earlier in the season.
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> Washburn returns home for its final three matches of the regular season beginning with Central Oklahoma on Friday and Pittsburg State on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. for senior night.
>> The Ichabods will finish the regular season on Nov. 11 at Newman
>> The MIAA Championship Tournament begins on Thursday Nov. 16.
