TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 19 Washburn volleyball moves action up a day and heads on the road to face No. 22 Central Oklahoma on Thursday and Pittsburg State on Friday in a pair of 6 p.m. matches. 
 

 SETTING THE SCHEDULE … 

>> The No. 19 ranked Washburn volleyball team begins a three match road trip with contests against Central Oklahoma and Pittsburg State.

>> The Ichabods head south and work their way up playing the Bronchos at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 6 p.m. and the Gorillas at 6 p.m. on Friday. 

>> Washburn split a second consecutive week of conference action, this time at home, falling to Central Missouri 3-0 on Friday before rebounding for a 3-2 win over Northwest Missouri State on Saturday. 
 

 QUICK HITS …

>> Washburn is now 10-3 on the year and 4-2 in the MIAA 

>> The Ichabods are tied with Missouri Western for fourth place in the MIAA at 4-2 this season. Central Missouri is a perfect 6-0 to lead the conference. 

>> Washburn moved down in the AVCA Coaches Poll for to No. 19. They have been ranked inside the top-20 in all six polls 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.

>> A three match roadtrip is tied for the longest remaining on the season for the Ichabods. 

>> Washburn is looking for it's first undefeated roadtrip of the season. 
 

 THE WEEK THAT WAS 

>> Washburn won a 3-1 lost a three set match to Missouri Western on Friday, 25-20, 25-15 and 25-12. The Ichabods defeated Northwest Missouri the next day in five sets, winning the first two 25-23 and 25-20, dropping the following two 28-26 and 30-28 before finishing off the match with a 15-8 win in the fifth. 

>> The loss on Friday was the second consecutive match the Ichabods had been swept. It is the first time since Oct. 27 - Nov. 2, 2018 that Washburn was swept in consecutive matches. 

>> The Ichabods are now 7-1 in Lee Arena in 2023. 

>> With the win against the Bearcats, Washburn is 3-0 in five-set matches this season. 

>> All three losses for the Ichabods have been in sweeps. 

>> Rachel Schwensen led Washburn in kills in both matches. On Saturday she knocked down 23 kills while hitting .500 and added five blocks. Twenty-three kills is the most by any Ichabod player in a single match this season. 

>> Rylee Unruh nearly had a 20-20 double-double against the Bearcats with 17 kills and 20 digs. She also added two blocks and two aces while hitting .256 in the match. 

>> For the first time this season Corinna McMullen and Sydney Conner each reached the 30 assist mark in the same match on Saturday, netting 34 and 30 respectively. McMullen had a double-double finishing with 17 digs. 

>> Jalyn Stevenson had 17 kills on Saturday and hit .326 in the match, she also added six digs. 

>> Bella Limback had a career-high 13 kills against NWMSU and did so while hitting .323.

>> Washburn hit a season low .051 as a team against Missouri Western and were held to just 25 kills. 
 

 STACKING UP THE STATS

>> The Ichabods are knocking down 13.8 kills per set, picking up 12.7 assists, making 17.3 digs and stuffing 2.2 attacks. 

>> Opponents are netting 11.3 kills per set, 10.4 assists, 15.6 digs and 2.6 blocks.  

>> Washburn is hitting ..226 as a team through nine matches while opponents are hitting .164

>> The Ichabods have 92 aces on the year (2.0 per set) while only allowing 47 (1.0 per set). 

>> The Ichabods are 19th nationally out of 278 ranked teams with an average of 12.74 assists per set, it's the third highest mark in the conference

>> In kills per set Washburn is 16th in the nation and third in the MIAA knocking down 13.30 per set

>> The Ichabod defense is at 32nd overall in digs per set at 17.30, fourth most among conference schools

>> Washburn is 42nd in the nation in aces per set at 2.0, that number is the most in the MIAA

>> When the Ichabods outhit their opponents they are 10-0

>> When Washburn collects more digs than opponents they are 8-1

>> The Ichabods are 10-0 when they have more assists than oppoennts.

>> Corinna McMullen is 23th in the nation in aces per set at .57. It's the highest among all MIAA players. 

>> Jalyn Stevenson is fifth in the MIAA in kills per set at 3.26 as well as sixth in points per set with 3.73.

>> Taylor Rottinghaus is 71st nationally out of 300 averaging 4.54 digs per set, fifth most in the MIAA.
 

 TEAM LEADERS 

>> Jalyn Stevenson leads Washburn with 150 kills on the year (3.26 per set) while hitting .207. She is third on the team with 228 digs (2.78 per set) and has combined for 12 blocks. 

>> Rachel Schwensen is up to 130 kills (2.83 per set) and is hitting .306 with only 29 errors on 330 attempts. She is also third on the team with 36 total blocks.

>> Corinna McMullen leads the Ichabods with 288 assists (6.26 per set) and is second with 136 digs (2.96 per set). She leads the Ichabods with 26 aces on the year.

>> Taylor Rottinghaus leads Washburn with 186 digs (4.54 per set) while adding 40 assists and holding a .950 reception percentage on 180 receptions. 

>> Rylee Unruh is third on the team with 101 kills (2.20 per set) and has done a little bit of everything, adding 18 aces, 127 digs (2.76 per set) and has been apart of 18 blocks. 

>> Austin Broadie has knocked down 86 kills (1.91 per set) while carrying a hitting percentage of .236. She is second on the team with 38 blocks and leads with seven solo blocks. 

>> Bella Limback has 75 kills on the year (1.63 per set) while hitting a team-high .359 among qualified players. She has the most blocks of any Washburn player with 47 total (1.02 per set) and has recorded 40 digs. 

>> Sydney Conner has chipped in 214 assists (4.65 per set) and 76 digs (1.65 per set) and has 11 aces on 164 attempts

>> Taryn Pridgett has made 47 kills (1.68 per set) while hitting .198. She has combined to make 15 blocks. 

>> Iyannah Jackson has chipped in 13 kills across 12 sets while also assisting with nine blocks. 

>> Sophia Cavanaugh has 10 kills on the year with five of them coming against NWMSU, she also had five 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

>> 6 : 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.

>> 120 : consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match

>> 596 : wins that Herron has at Washburn.
 

MILESTONE TRACKER … 

>> Chris Herron is four wins away from 600 while at Washburn. 

>> Jalyn Stevenson needs one more kill for 800 in her career.

>> Sydney Conner is five assists away from 300 in her career. 

>> Austin Broadie is 11 blocks away from 100 in her career. 

>> Rachel Schwensen is 25 kills away from 1,000 in her collegiate career 
 

SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...

Central Oklahoma Bronchos

>> Central Oklahoma is 14-3 overall on the year with a 5-2 record in MIAA play. They are 4-1 at home on the year. 

>> Last season the Bronchos went 24-7 overall and 14-6 in the MIAA, losing in the first round of the conference tournament to Washburn. 

>> UCO is ranked No. 22 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll after being ranked No. 20 last week.

>> Central Oklahoma is led by Edgar Miraku in his 12th season. He is 257-88 with the Bronchos. 

>> Assistant coach Emily Todd and volunteers Bill Hamiter and Joe Skinner round out the staff. 

>> As a team Central Oklahoma carries averages of 14.6 kills per set while hitting .254, 13.7 assists, 18.9 digs and 1.5 blocks.  

>> Jenna Karp leads the Bronchos in kills with 187 (3.28 per set) and in attack percentage at .415. She is also second on the team with 36 total blocks, 11 being solo. 

>> Lindsey Houran has 481 assists (9.62 per set) to pace the Central Oklahoma offensive attack. She has also contributed 123 digs (2.46 per set) and 32 kills.  

>> Addison Wimmer has 176 killls this season (3.09 per set) and hits .237. She's also helped out with 94 digs and 17 blocks. 

>> Jaedynn Evans leads UCO in digs with 278 (5.91 per set) and has chipped in 42 assists.

>> Sydney Huck has 174 kills on the year (2.95 per set) and hits .237. She is tied for second on the Bronchos with 131 digs (2.22 per set) and has 18 total blocks as well. 

>> Washburn is 17-11 all-time against Central Oklahoma going back to 1995. Last season the Ichabods lost both regular season matchups before winning in the conference tournament. 

Pittsburg State Gorillas

>> The Gorillas are 6-9 on the year after falling 3-1 to Central Missouri on Saturday. They are 2-5 in MIAA play and 4-4 in John Lance Arena. 

>> In 2022 Pittsburg State went 17-14 overall and 10-11 in the MIAA. They advanced to the semifinals of the MIAA Tournament before falling to Nebraska-Kearney. 

>> The Bearcats are led by Jen Gomez in her 8th season at PSU. She has a 88-124 record with the program. 

>> Assistant Coach Miranda Rodriguez and Graduate Assistant Hannah Delor round out the staff. 

>> Pitt State averages 11.4 kills per set on .142 hitting, 10.7 assists, 1.6 blocks and 17.1 digs.

>> Janae Thurston leads the Gorillas in kills with 171 (3.17 per set) and hits .177 on the year. She is second on the team with 173 digs (3.2 per set) and has contributed to 23 total blocks. 

>> Josie McCroskey has 238 digs (4.41 per set) to pace Pitt State. She also has 50 assists and 14 aces. 

>> Kate Bandre is second on the team with 90 kills (1.76 per set) and leads the Gorillas in hitting at .198. She is second on the team with 24 total blocks, four being solo. 

>> Jadyn Jackson has 472 assists (8.74 per set) to top the Pitt State chart. She leads the Gorillas with 26 aces and has made 164 digs (3.04 per set). 

>> Washburn is 63-22 all-time against the Gorillas going back to 1975. The Ichabods have won 28 straight matches with the last loss coming on Nov. 8, 2008. 

 TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …

>> Washburn splits next weeks matchups home and away beginning with facing the Hornets in Emporia at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and hosts Newman at 6 p.m. on Thursday Oct. 12 

>> Senior night for the Ichabods is No. 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.