TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 15 Washburn volleyball returns to Lee Arena for two matches this weekend hosting Missouri Western at 6 p.m. on Friday and Northwest Missouri State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
SETTING THE SCHEDULE …
>> The No. 15 ranked Washburn volleyball team returns to Topeka this weekend to take on Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri State.
>> The Ichabods play the Griffons at 6 p.m. on Friday Sep. 29 and will host the Bearcats on Saturday Sep. 30 at 2 p.m.
>> Washburn had its first conference road trip of the season last weekend and split the matches, defeating Missouri Southern and falling to Central Missouri. The Ichabods will be right back on the road after this weekend with the next three matches away from Lee Arena.
QUICK HITS …
>> Washburn is now 9-2 on the year and 3-1 in the MIAA
>> The Ichabods are tied Central Oklahoma and Nebraska-Kearney for second place in the conference but hold currently hold a tiebreaker advantage over the Lopers.
>> Washburn moved down in the AVCA Coaches Poll for the first time this season dropping to No. 15 after being ranked No. 13 the previous 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 have no more home stands longer than two matches remaining on the season.
>> Washburn is looking to stay undefeated at home on the season.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
>> Washburn won a 3-1 contest against Missouri Southern on Friday, taking the first two sets 25-11 and 25-19 before dropping the third 26-24 and finishing off the fourth 25-17. They were swept by Central Missouri on Saturday, 25-21, 25-20 and 25-22.
>> The Ichabods are 3-0 against ranked opponents this season all coming in sweeping fashion.
>> Washburn is 1-2 in true road contests this season.
>> The win against the Lions was the first four-set match played this season win or lose.
>> Prior to the third set loss to Missouri Southern the Ichabods had won 14 straight sets.
>> Both losses for Washburn have been sweeps.
>> Jalyn Stevenson had a pair of double-doubles over the weekend and led the Ichabods in kills in both matches. Against the Lions she knocked down 13 kills with 14 digs and against the Jennies she had a 17 kills while scooping up 11 digs. She also hit .222 over the week.
>> Corinna McMullen tied the Washburn aces record set earlier this season by Rylee Unruh after she had eight against Missouri Southern on Friday. Against the Lions she also dished out 27 assists and had a double-double with 15 digs.
>> Rachel Schwensen had 11 kills while hitting .333 and added four blocks against Missouri Southern.
>> The Ichabods had 12 aces against the Lions and were held to zero aces for the first time all season against the Jennies.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus scooped at least 20 digs in both matches, notching 20 digs on Friday and 23 digs against Central Missouri.
>> Washburn hit just .135 against the Jennies, the second lowest mark as a team in 2023.
STACKING UP THE STATS
>> The Ichabods are knocking down 13.9 kills per set, picking up 12.9 assists, making 17.5 digs and stuffing 2.2 attacks.
>> Opponents are netting 10.9 kills per set, 10.0 assists, 15.2 digs and 2.6 blocks.
>> Washburn is hitting .231 as a team through nine matches while opponents are hitting .153
>> The Ichabods have 82 aces on the year (2.2 per set) while only allowing 33 (.9 per set).
>> The Ichabods are 14th nationally out of 278 ranked teams with an average of 12.96 assists per set, it's the third highest mark in the conference
>> In kills per set Washburn is 14th in the nation and third in the MIAA knocking down 13.89 per set
>> The Ichabod defense is up to 28th overall in digs per set at 17.53, fourth most among conference schools
>> Washburn is 14th in the nation in aces per set at 2.16, that number is highest in the MIAA
>> When the Ichabods outhit their opponents they are 9-0
>> When Washburn collects more digs than opponents they are 8-1
>> The Ichabods are 9-0 when they have more assists than oppoennts.
>> Corinna McMullen is 9th in the nation in aces per set at .66. It's the highest among all MIAA players.
>> Jalyn Stevenson is fourth in the MIAA in kills per set at 3.37 as well as sixth in points per set with 3.84.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus is 59th nationally out of 300 averaging 4.64 digs per set, fourth most in the MIAA.
TEAM LEADERS
>> Jalyn Stevenson leads Washburn with 128 kills on the year (3.37 per set) while hitting .216. She is second on the team with 115 digs (3.03 per set) and has made 219 receptions with only six errors.
>> Rachel Schwensen is up to 100 kills (2.63 per set) and is hitting .293 with only 21 errors on 270 attempts. She is also third on the team with 28 total blocks.
>> Corinna McMullen leads the Ichabods with 240 assists (6.32 per set) and is third with 113 digs (2.97 per set). She leads the Ichabods with 25 aces on the year and only five service errors.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus leads Washburn with 153 digs (4.64 per set) while adding 32 assists and holding a .962 reception percentage on 131 receptions.
>> Rylee Unruh is third on the team with 81 kills (2.13 per set) and has done a little bit of everything, adding 16 aces, 99 digs and has been apart of 14 blocks.
>> Austin Broadie has knocked down 79 kills (2.08 per set) while carrying a hitting percentage of .277. She is second on the team with 31 blocks and leads with seven solo blocks.
>> Bella Limback has 57 kills on the year on only 122 attempts (1.50 per set) while hitting a team-high .385. She has the most blocks of any Washburn player with 37 total (.97 per set) and has recorded 31 digs.
>> Sydney Conner has chipped in 179 assists (4.71 per set) and 62 digs (1.63 per set) and has 11 aces on 139 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.
>> Maddie Steiner has made 25 digs on the year with 11 assists.
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.
>> 119 : consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match
>> 595 : wins that Herron has at Washburn.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> Chris Herron is five wins away from 600 while at Washburn.
>> Austin Broadie is five blocks away from 100 in her career
>> Sydney Conner is 10 assists away from 750 in her career.
>> Rylee Unruh is one dig away from 100 in her career and freshman season.
>> Rachel Schwensen is 55 kills away from 1,000 in her collegiate career
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Missouri Western State Griffons
>> Missouri Western is 9-4 overall on the year with a 2-1 record in MIAA play. They are 1-0 in road matches.
>> 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 will be 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 13.0 kills per set while hitting .198, 11.6 assists, 19.2 digs and 2.0 blocks.
>> Taylor Russell has 116 kills for Missouri Western (2.82 per set) and is hitting .279 on the year, all three second highest on the team. She has also contributed to 23 blocks.
>> Holly Heldt leads the Griffons with 124 kills (2.82 per set) and has 11 aces.
>> Danielle Moje has 112 kills (2.55 per set) and hits a team high .306 along with 27 blocks.
>> Anna Weberg leads MWS scooping 231 digs (5.25 per set) with a 97% reception percentage.
>> Nessa Johnson paces the Griffons with 446 assists (10.14 per set) and as 15 aces with 146 digs.
>> Washburn is 46-37 all-time against Missouri Western going back to 1975. Last season the two teams split the season series, each winning at home.
Northwest Missouri State Bearcats
>> The Bearcats are 7-5 on the year after sweeping Newman on Saturday. NWMSU is 2-2 in MIAA play and 2-1 in road matches.
>> 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 dropped out of the latest AVCA Coaches Poll and are receiving votes.
>> NWMSU averages 13.1 kills per set on .203 hitting, 11.9 assists, 1.5 blocks and 16.8 digs.
>> Abby Brussen leads the Bearcats in kills with 106 (2.36 per set) and blocks with 29. She also hits a team-high .308 among qualified hitters.
>> Avery Kemp has 103 kills (2.71 per set) and hits .275 along with 24 blocks, she is second on the team in both categories.
>> Ella Caffery has 349 assists for the Bearcats this year (8.73 per set) and has a team-high 21 aces. She also contributes 2.6 digs per set (104 total) and has helped out on 11 blocks.
>> Kyah Luhring has 220 digs for Northwest Missouri (4.68 per set) along with 49 assists and six aces.
>> Washburn is 49-23 all-time against the Bearcats going back to 1976. The Ichabods lost both regular season matches last season and won in the conference tournament.
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> Washburn heads south to face Central Oklahoma and Pittsburg State on Thursday and Friday respectively next week.
>> 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.
