TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn volleyball finishes the 2023 home slate of matches on Monday as they host Emporia State at 6 p.m. in Lee Arena.
SETTING THE SCHEDULE …
>> Washburn volleyball begins the final week of the regular season at home against Emporia State. They will head on the road on Saturday to face Newman in the regular season finale.
>> The Ichabods face the Hornets at 6 p.m. on Monday to wrap up the season series.
>> Washburn ended a four-match losing streak on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Pittsburg State. On Friday they lost a five-set match to No. 17 Central Oklahoma.
QUICK HITS …
>> Washburn is now 15-10 on the year and 9-9 in the MIAA
>> The Ichabods now sit in sixth place in the MIAA this season with an 9-9 record, two games behind the Bearcats and tow ahead of Missouri Southern.
>> Washburn dropped out of the AVCA Coaches Poll for the first time this season last week.
>> 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.
>> The Ichabods regular season finale will be on Saturday, Nov. 11 against Newman on the road.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
>> Washburn split a pair of home matches against the No. 17 Bronchos and Gorillas. On Friday against UCO they lost a five set match 25-20, 16-25, 26-24, 18-25 and 16-14. They bounced back on Saturday with a 25-17, 19-25, 25-23 and 25-17 win over PSU.
>> The Ichabods are now 3-7 on the road in 2023 and 10-3 at home.
>> Washburn has eight sweeps this season.
>> The Ichabods will look to win back-to-back matches for the first time since Oct. 10 against ESU.
>> Washburn had three players with more than 13 kills on Friday against the Bronchos. Taryn Pridgett was one of the trio finishing with a career high 13 kills while hitting .256.
>> Jalyn Stevenson led the Ichabods in hitting in both matches finishing with 15 and 11 kills respectively. She had double-doubles in both matches, adding 18 kills in the match against UCO.
>> Rachel Schwensen had 14 kills, six digs and three blocks on Friday but missed the senior day match due to injury.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus had 22 and 21 digs respectively for the Ichabods, leading in both matches.
>> Austin Broadie had 10 kills while hitting .368 on Saturday just a day after setting a career high with 10 digs against UCO.
STACKING UP THE STATS
>> The Ichabods are knocking down 13.1 kills per set, picking up 12.3 assists, making 17.7 digs and stuffing 2.1 attacks.
>> Opponents are netting 11.8 kills per set, 10.9 assists, 16.4 digs and 2.3 blocks.
>> Washburn is hitting .217 as a team through 25 matches while opponents are hitting .170
>> The Ichabods have 167 aces on the year (1.8 per set) while only allowing 98 (1.1 per set).
>> Washburn is fourth in the conference in hitting percentage at .216 for the year
>> The Ichabods passing attack rates fourth in the MIAA and 28th nationally with 12.33 assists per set
>> The defense sits at fourth among conference foes at 17.75 digs per set
>> Washburn is second in the MIAA in aces per set at 1.73
>> When the Ichabods outkill their opponents they are 15-3
>> When Washburn collects more digs than opponents they are 13-3
>> The Ichabods are 15-3 when they have more assists than opponents.
>> Corinna McMullen leads all players in the conference with .47 aces per set and is first overall with 45 total.
>> Jalyn Stevenson is fourth in the MIAA in kills per set at 3.13 as well as seventh in points per set at 3.62.
>> Rachel Schwensen is fifth in the MIAA in hitting percentage at .297
TEAM LEADERS
>> Jalyn Stevenson leads Washburn with 290 kills on the year (3.15 per set) while hitting .204. She is second on the team with 285 digs (3.10 per set) and has combined for 27 blocks.
>> Rachel Schwensen is up to 247 kills (2.81 per set) and is hitting .297 across 632 attempts. She is also third on the squad with 60 blocks.
>> Corinna McMullen leads the Ichabods with 549 assists (5.97 per set) and is third with 254 digs (2.76 per set). She leads the Ichabods with 45 aces on the year.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus leads Washburn with 360 digs (4.24 per set) while adding 72 assists and holding a .952 reception percentage on 373 receptions.
>> Rylee Unruh is third on the team with 175 kills (1.97 per set) and has done a little bit of everything, adding 22 aces, 215 digs (2.42 per set) and has been apart of 31 blocks.
>> Austin Broadie has knocked down 170 kills (1.89 per set) while carrying a hitting percentage of .225. She is second with 65 total blocks and tied for the lead with eight solos.
>> Bella Limback has 134 kills on the year (1.52 per set) while hitting .269. She has the most blocks of any Washburn player with 79 total (.90 per set) and has recorded 57 digs.
>> Sydney Conner has chipped in 420 assists (4.57 per set) and 176 digs (1.91 per set) and has 21 aces.
>> Iyannah Jackson has totaled up 62 kills across 53 sets hitting a team best .341, as well as combining to make 49 blocks.
>> Maddie Steiner has made 105 digs on the year (1.81 per set).
>> Taryn Pridgett has made 76 kills (1.87 per set) while hitting .177. She has combined to make 22 blocks.
>> Sophia Cavanaugh has 21 kills on the year, she also has eight 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 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
>> 601 : wins that Herron has at Washburn.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Jalyn Stevenson is 61 kills away from 1,000 in her career.
>> Sydney Conner is 17 assists away from 1,000 career.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Emporia State Hornets
>> Emporia State is 12-14 overall on the year with a 6-12 record in MIAA play. They are 3-8 on the road this year.
>> Last season the Hornets went 4-25 overall and 1-19 in the MIAA and did not qualify for the MIAA Tournament
>> Ken Murczek is in his first season at the helm of the ESU volleyball program.
>> Assistant coach Laurel Durst and graduate assistant McKenzie Damon round out the staff
>> As a team Emporia State carries averages of 12.4 kills per set while hitting .203, 11.4 assists, 15.0 digs and 1.8 blocks.
>> Sandora Sasaki leads Emporia State in kills with 443 kills (4.76 per set) and she hits .237, second highest on the team. She also adds 22 aces, 19 blocks and is fourth on the team with 211 digs (2.27 per set)
>> McKenya Sorrells has 171 kills (1.97 per set) and carries a .237 attacking percentage. She also leads the team with 72 blocks.
>> Brailee Bogle has 864 assists to lead ESU (9.19 per set), she also has 22 aces and has made 220 digs (2.34 per set).
>> Anakaren Chavez paces Emporia State with 339 digs this season (3.61 per set) she has a .951 reception percentage.
>> Washburn is 40-55 all-time against the Hornets going back to 1973. The Ichabods have won the last 11 matches including a 3-0 sweep on Oct. 10.
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> The Ichabods will finish the regular season on Nov. 11 at Newman
>> The MIAA Championship Tournament begins on Thursday Nov. 16.
