TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 17 Washburn Ichabod volleyball will begin its 2023 season with three matches in the Sunshine State at the Florida Southern College Volleyball Classic. After schedule changes caused adjustments the Ichabods will now face Flagler (11 a.m.) and Florida Southern (6 p.m.) on Friday, Sep. 1 before finishing the tournament against No. 6 Barry at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Sep. 2.
SETTING THE SCHEDULE …
>> The Washburn volleyball team will begin its 2023 season in the Sunshine State at the Florida Southern Volleyball Classic with three matches this Friday and Saturday, Sep. 1-2
>> On Friday, the Ichabods will face Flagler College (11 a.m.) and the host school Florida Southern College (6 p.m.) before wrapping up the tournament on Saturday against No. 6 Barry (11 a.m.)
>> Friday's match against Grand Valley State was cancelled, with the Lakers not making the trip due to incoming inclement weather anticipated in Florida. The change resulted with Barry being added to the Ichabod's schedule and the match against Florida Southern being moved up to Friday evening.
>> The Ichabods finished last season 24-8 with a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearence while also capturing the first MIAA Tournament Championship in program history.
FLORIDA SOUTHERN VOLLEYBALL CLASSIC …
>> The classic will be made up of four teams from three conferences after forecasted severe weather caused the tournament to shrink in size. The host Florida Southern and Barry will both come from the Sunshine State Conference, Flagler from the Peach Belt, and Washburn is the lone MIAA school.
>> Every match in the tournament will be live streamed on the SSC Network and all matches will have live stats avaliable as well.
>> A complete tournament schedule can be found here.
QUICK HITS …
>> Washburn is 38-15 all-time in season openers and 26-6 since joining the NCAA and MIAA in 1989.
>> The Ichabods will begin the new season one spot above where they ended the 2022 season as they are ranked No. 17 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll. They recieved a total of 374 points in the poll.
>> Washburn has started the season ranked in the AVCA top-25 poll 18 times in Chris Herron's 22 official seasons as head coach.
>> 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 went 10-1 in neutral site matches and 7-4 in true road matches last year.
>> Washburn went 7-4 against opponents ranked in the top-25 in 2022, winning four of the last five.
>> Four of those 11 matches were against squads ranked in the top-10, where the Ichaobds went 3-1
BACK FOR MORE... 2023 RETURNERS
>> There are 10 Ichabods returning from 2022 after losing 10 student-athletes from last year's roster.
>> Washburn will have only four upperclassmen (1 seniors and 3 juniors) in 2023 of the 10 returners seven are redshirt freshmen and sophomores.
>> Jalyn Stevenson returns as a junior after posting an All-MIAA first-team sophomore campaign. In 2022 she knocked down 386 kills while hitting .214 from the outside. Stevenson alos made 392 digs with 41 combined blocks while starting 31 of 32 matches.
>> Taryn Pridgett begins her junior season after recording 32 kills and 13 digs in 2022.
>> Maddie Steiner returns in 2023 after joining the Ichabods as a community college transfer in 2022. She appeared in 45 sets last season making 49 digs with four assists.
>> Corinna McMullen is one of five returning sophomores. The setter averaged 6.55 assists per set for 806 on the season while also making 289 digs en route to earning All-MIAA honorable mention honors.
>> Sydney Conner completes the return of both halves of last season's setter duo. Conner made 561 assists in her freshman campaign with 219 digs. She will wear number 15 in 2023 after touting No. 8 in 2022.
>> Austin Broadie finished fourth on the Ichabods with 221 kills last season after redshirting in 2021. The sophomore was also part of 64 blocks in 2022.
>> Bella Limback and Iyannah Jackson round out the returning sophomores.
>> Limback had 51 kills with 28 digs in her freshman campaign.
>> Jackson knocked down 39 kills and came away with 19 blocks in 2022.
>> Brooklyn Lassiter and Kali Henry will each look to make their Washburn debutes in 2023 after sitting out the 2022 campaign as redshirts.
NEW YEAR NEW FACES
>> The 2023 roster is rounded out with six true freshmen, one graduate student transfer and a returning sophomore.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus (Berryton, Kan.) is the only non-hitter of the group. The defensive specialist/libero and Shawnee Heights graduate is the younger sister of former Ichabod All-American and program leader in digs Faith Rottinghaus.
>> Six freshman hitters round out the group of 2023 grads joining the Ichabods.
>> Sophia Cavanaugh (Chapman, Kan.), Rylee Unruh (Lawrence, Kan.) and Gracie Kircher (Hickman, Neb.) will all swing from the outside with Kircher also on the right side.
>> Heather Schemper (Phillipsburg, Kan.) and Natalie Hedlund (Fairfax, Mo.) will spend time inside and out.
>> Emma Williams returns to Washburn as a sophomore after serving as a student assistant coach last season. Williams played in eight matches as a freshman in 2021 before missing the rest of the season with an injury.
>> Rachel Schwensen joins the Ichabods as a graduate student transfer to round out the roster.
>> The right side hitter and Lawrence, Kan. native spent her freshman season at Kansas before spending the next three at Division I Northern Colorado where the Bears have won two Big Sky regular season and tournament championship titles. She was the 2020 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year with second team all-conference honors. In her final two seasons she was a All-Big Sky first team selection each time and was an AVCA All-Region honorable mention after recording 309 kills and 69 blocks.
LAST TIME OUT …
>> After three upset victories in the MIAA Championship Tournament to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships the Ichabods faced No. 6 University of Minnesota Duluth in the Central Region quarterfinals.
>> Washburn won the first set 25-21 but lost the next three sets (25-21, 25-19, 25-19) to end the season.
>> The Bulldogs outhit the Ichabods .304 to .190 to net a 67 to 46 advantage in kills.
>> Washburn doubled the block total of Minnesota Duluth, 12 to 6, but tallied just 54 digs compared to 68.
>> Jalyn Stevenson paced the team with 15 kills and notched a double-double with 10 digs as well.
>> Austin Broadie hit .400 in the match and tallied 12 kills with only two errors.
>> Corinna McMullen had 18 assists while Sydney Conner finished with 17.
>> Halle Meister had six kills in 13 swings in her final match for the Ichabods.
>> The Bulldogs were led by Sydney Lanoue's 22 kills on just 34 attacks. Samantha Paulsen hit .444 for the match with 15 kills. Madison Gordon logged 55 assists with 10 digs for one of three double-doubles notched by Minnesota Duluth.
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
>> 10 : student-athletes who were on the roster last year who are not on the 2022 roster
>> 20 : consecutive winning seasons for Washburn.
>> 113 : consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match
>> 586 : wins that Herron has at Washburn.
>> 629 : days since the Ichabods last played in Florida.
MILESTONE TRACKER …
>> McMullen is 11 digs away from 300 in her career.
>> Stevenson needs 51 kills for 700
>> Conner needs 39 assists to reach the 600 mark
>> Schwensen is 155 kills away from 1,000 in her collegiate career
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION ...
Flagler College Saints
>> The Saints reached the NCAA Southeast Regional finals and finished the 2022 seasons 20-10 overall and 9-6 in the PBC.
>> The Saints return one player who earned All-Peach Belt Conference recognition last season. Jordan Berglin was a first team member after leading Flagler with 333 kills. She coupled that with 245 digs and helped out on 41 blocks. She was also named an AVCA All-Southeast Region honorable mention.
>> Also returning are Edie Lamoreaux who led Flagler with 469 digs last season. Along with Audrey Simmons and Molly Boyd who were second and third in kills last seasons respectively. Simmons knocked down 244 kills while Boyd had 208 and contributed to a team best 113 blocks.
>> The Saints return eight players from the 2022 roster while adding four transfers and six true freshmen
>> Flagler is led by Skylar Lopas in his second season as head coach of the Saints program. Prior to joining Flagler Lopas spent three seasons as an assistant at Florida.
>> The season opener between the two programs will be the first time that they will face eachother.
Barry Buccaneers
>> The Buccaneers finished up a strong 2022 season 28-6 (16-4 SSC) with a trip to the NCAA Championships where they lost in the National Semifinals to Missouri - St. Louis.
>> Barry is ranked No. 6 in the AVCA Preseason National Coaches Poll
>> The Buccaneers were picked second in the SSC Preseason Coaches Poll.
>> Barry returns the 2022 AVCA DII National Player of the Year in Diana Akopova. Last season as a sophomore led DII with 634 kills and 710.5 points while adding 212 digs and 85 blocks.
>> Jeyhlen Thomas also returns after knocking down 151 kills last season at .275. Thomas led Barry with 132 blocks.
>> Mariana Beltran posted 96 kills in 2022 and added 68 digs.
>> Five players return from the 2022 roster with seven true freshmen and three transfers added.
>> Leonid Yelin enters the second season of his second stint with Barry after head coaching positions at Louisville and Syracuse. Yelin coached Barry to it's first National Championship in 1995.
>> The Ichabods and Buccaneers have met only one time, Aug. 31, 2012. Washburn defeated Barry 3-0 in West Palm Beach, Fl.
Florida Southern College Mocs
>> The Mocs finished the 2022 season 15-15 (8-11 SSC) and lost in the quarterfinals of the NCAA South Region Championship.
>> Florida Southern had two players earn SSC honors last season with one returning. Mackenzie Petermann was a third team selection last season after leading the Mocs with 354 kills. She hit .190 on the year while adding 271 digs and 31 blocks.
>> Madison Fowler is the next highest returner in the kills department, she was fourth on the team with 138 last year.
>> Florida Southern returns 11 players from last years roster and round out the squad with four true freshmen and two transfers
>> Ashlee Crowder begins her first coach as head coach of the Mocs after spending two seasons as head coach at Florida Tech prior to returning to Lakeland.
>> Washburn is 2-1 all-time against Florida Southern with the last match being a 3-1 victory on Sep. 14, 2007 in Lee Arena.
2022 SEASON REWIND …
>> Washburn Ichabod volleyball went 24-8 (13-7) in the 2022 season which was highlighted by the programs first ever MIAA Tournament Championship
>> Washburn finished the season No. 18 in the AVCA poll
>> The Ichabods qualified for the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive season
>> Halle Meister and Jalyn Stevenson were both named AVCA All-American Honorable Mentions
>> Washburn had four players recieve All-MIAA honors with Halle Meister and Jalyn Stevenson on the first team, Kealy Kivinemi on the second and Corinna McMullen tabbed as an honorable mention
>> Stevenson led the Ichabods with 386 kills on the year, Meister was second with 269 while hitting .360 across 570 attacks. Corinna McMullen had 806 assists to pace the squad while Sydney Pullen's 606 digs were tops on the team
>> Washburn defeated three top-10 ranked teams on the year
>> The Ichabods started the season 11-0, the first time a Washburn team has done so since 2018
TAKE A LOOK AHEAD …
>> The Ichabods return to Topeka for the Washburn Invite where they will play four matches between Sep. 7-9 before beginning MIAA play against Nebraska-Kearney in Lee Arena on Sep. 15.
>> The MIAA Championship Tournament begins on Thursday Nov. 16.
