PITTSBURG — The Pittsburg State volleyball team will hit the road for its final four Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) games over the next two weeks. This weekend the Gorillas will travel to Topeka to take on the No. 3 ranked Washburn Ichabods Friday (Nov. 8) before traveling to Emporia, Kan., for a Saturday (Nov. 9) showdown with the Lady Hornets of Emporia State. Friday's match is set for 6 p.m. (CST) while Saturday's action is set for 3 p.m.

Scouting the Gorillas
The Gorillas are 12-13 overall and 7-9 in the MIAA. Pitt State punched its ticket to the 2019 MIAA Postseason Tournament last week. It marks the Gorillas' fifth berth into the conference postseason tournament after earning four straight berths from 2003-06 (the MIAA did not sponsor a postseason tournament from 2008-11).
Pitt State split a pair of MIAA matches last week, defeating Newman, 3-0, on Oct. 29, before falling, 3-1, to Missouri Western last Saturday (Nov. 2).
The Gorillas are attacking at a .178 clip while opponents are just a fraction higher at .185. The Gorillas have five players with triple digit kills on the season, however Erika Ivkov (274), Morgan Henning (249) and Meg Auten (218) all have more than 200 kills on the season. Ivkov is strong from the service line as well as she has posted 28 aces on the season. Meanwhile, libero Marissa Bates has tallied 362 digs this season and Brianna Richard has 551 assists on the campaign.

Scouting the Ichabods
The Ichabods enter the match with a 22-2 overall record and a 14-2 MIAA slate. Washburn enters the match on a seven-game winning streak and ranked No. 3 in this week's AVCA/NCAA Division II Top 25 poll. The Ichabods trail only Nebraska-Kearney in the conference standings. Over the past five matches, the Ichabods have only dropped one set. WU is attacking .238 on the season while opponents are hitting at a .126 clip. The Ichabods have four players with triple digit kills with Genna Berg sitting as the leader with 298.
Scouting the Hornets
The Lady Hornets enter the match with a 6-18 overall record and a 2-14 MIAA slate. ESU is coming off a three-set sweep at the hands of Central Oklahoma last Saturday (Nov. 2). The Lady Hornets are attacking .152 on the season while opponents are hitting at a .222 clip. Yuchen Du is the top attacker with 263 kills.

Earlier Meetings
The Ichabods and Gorillas met back on Oct. 12 at John Lance Arena with the Gorillas being swept by scores of 27-25, 25-20 and 25-10. Ivkov and Auten paced the Gorillas in that match with nine kills each.
The Lady Hornets and Gorillas met back on Oct. 11 in Pittsburg with the Gorillas winning the match in five sets. The Gorillas won with scores of 17-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-18 and 15-11. Ivkov posted 26 kills in the match while Henning added 23.

Up Next
The Gorillas will close out the regular season with two more road matches. Pitt State will travel to Fort Hays State on Friday, Nov. 15, and Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Nov. 16.