TOPEKA, Kan. -- Washburn volleyball begins its final weekend of regular season action inside of Lee Arena on Friday night at 6 p.m. against No. 5 Nebraska Kearney for the start of Alumni Weekend. The next night is Senior Day against Fort Hays State with first serve at 6 p.m. and senior day ceremonies beginning before the match.
Setting The Schedule
>> Washburn volleyball will play its final round of regular season matches inside of Lee Arena as they host No. 5 Nebraska Kearney to begin Alumni Weekend and Fort Hays State for Senior Night.
>> The Ichabods will face the Lopers at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8 before taking on the Tigers on Saturday with first serve at 6 p.m. in the home finale.
THANK YOU SENIORS!
>> Before the match on Saturday all five seniors, Emma Williams, Jalyn Stevenson, Maddie Steiner, Taryn Pridgett and Austin Broadie will be recognized.
>> The quintet of seniors have played a combined 19 seasons with the Ichabods, appearing in 377 total matches.
>> Jalyn Stevenson has been a four-year member of the Ichabod volleyball program. She has appeared in 428 sets across 119 matches. She was an AVCA All-American honorable mention in 2022 and is a two-time All-MIAA first team selection while also earning honorable mention honors as a freshman. The Spring Hill, Kan. native is 15th in program history with 1,234 kils and 19th in digs with 1,247.
>> Taryn Pridgett has been a five-year member of the Washburn volleyball program appearing in 115 sets and 56 matches. The Topeka, Kan. native has tallied 170 total kills with 50 digs and 42 blocks.
>> Austin Broadie has been with Washburn for four seasons playing in 291 sets and 82 matches. She has accumulated 600 career kills with 191 total blocks and 145 digs. The Burns, Kan. native is 24th in program history with a .243 career attacking percentage and is 33rd all-time in total blocks.
>> Emma Williams has been with the Ichabods for three seasons as a player and one as a student assistant. She has played in 129 sets and 52 total matches serving 16 aces with 43 digs and five assists.
>> Maddie Steiner is a three-year member of the Ichabod volleyball team where she has appeared in 193 sets across 68 matches. The Topeka, Kan. native has made 309 career digs with 72 assists and served 26 aces.
Quick Hits
>> The Ichabods are 18-4 on the year overall and 9-3 inside the MIAA. They are 6-3 in road matches, 7-1 in neutral court contests and 5-0 in Lee Arena.
>> Washburn stayed unbeaten at home with a pair of sweeps last week over Northwest Missouri State and No. 23 Missouri Western.
>> The Ichabods were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll with one first place vote. They are currently tied for third with two weeks of play to go.
>> Washburn is receiving votes in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll with 55 total points in the rankings. It is the most points of any team not ranked inside the top-25.
>> The Ichabods went 17-11 overall a season ago, finishing 5th in the MIAA. They went 11-3 at home, 4-7 on the road and 2-1 in neutral court matches.
>> The 2024 roster is the most balanced by class in the Chris Herron era. For the first time in his tenure there are at least four players from each class on the roster.
About the Ichabods
>> Jalyn Stevenson is the team leader with 243 kills (2.93 per set) while hitting .205 across 22 matches with 22 starts. She is also second on the squad in digs with 256 (3.08 per set) and in aces with 30. She is 11th in the MIAA in total kills, 16th in total digs and ranks 4th in total aces. She is top-20 in kills, digs and aces per set as well.
>> Alex Dvorak leads the Washburn defense at the net with 107 blocks on the year (1.29 per set) while starting all 22 matches. She sits third on the team in kills with 171 (2.06 per set) and is second with a .363 hitting percentage. The junior is second in the MIAA in blocks per set and total blocks. She ranks 19th and 17th in each category nationally respectively. She is also 33rd in the nation and third in the conference in hitting percentage. In 14 of 22 matches she has recorded at least five blocks.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus has a team-high 406 digs (4.89 per set) across 22 matches. She has chipped in 71 assists and served 23 aces. The sophomore is 46th in the nation and eighth in the MIAA in digs per set while ranking eighth among conference players in total digs. She has 20+ digs in four of the last five matches.
>> Corinna McMullen paces Washburn with 510 assists (6.22 per set) through 22 matches with 20 starts. She is also third on the team with 187 digs (2.28 per set) while serving a team-high 37 aces. The junior is 2nd in the MIAA in aces per set while ranking 8th in both assists per set and total assists. She has 10 double-doubles on the year. Against the Bearcats she served seven aces, tied for the third most in a match in program history.
>> Bella Limback leads the Ichabod hitters with a .368 attacking percentage while starting all 22 matches. She has tallied 143 kills (1.77 per set) and is second on the team with 79 blocks. The junior's hitting percentage is 27th highest in the nation and second in the MIAA. She is also 10th in total blocks in the conference and 12th in blocks per set. She has hit over .400 in ten matches on the year.
>> Austin Broadie is second on the team in kills and third in hitting percentage while playing all 22 matches and making ten starts. She has 183 kills (2.20 per set) on the year while hitting .271 and has racked up 55 total blocks. The senior has hit over .400 in four matches.
>> Sydney Conner is second on the team with 342 assist (4.38 per set) across 22 matches with two starts. The junior is fifth on the squad with 143 digs (1.83 per set) while serving 11 aces. She has posted three double-doubles this season.
>> Brynne Topolski has started in eight matches and played in 19 during her freshman season, logging 130 kills (2.13 per set) while hitting .232. She has added 33 blocks and 38 digs.
>> Maddie Steiner is fourth on the team with 15 service aces while playing in all 22 matches and making 13 starts. The senior is also fourth with 147 digs (1.79 per set) from the back row with four double-digit dig matches.
>> Emery Keebaugh has played in 17 matches logging four starts while making 90 kills (2.05 per set). She is hitting .173 with 19 blocks and 43 digs.
>> Keilah Rivers has tallied 45 kills (1.25 per set) across 16 matches with three starts. She has 36 digs and 14 blocks.
Head Coach Chris Herron
>> Herron is in his 23rd season at the helm of the Ichabod volleyball program with a career record of 621-136 at Washburn.
>> He has led the Ichabod to 17 NCAA Tournament appearances and six combined MIAA titles (five regular season and one tournament).
>> Has been named MIAA Coach of the Year four times (2002, 2005, 2007 and 2011).
>> Led the Ichabods to the NCAA National Championship match in 2021.
>> Has seen his players earn 50 All-American awards, 90 All-Region/District awards and 46 All-MIAA first team selections.
>> Spent 14 years as a high school coach at Tonganoxie HS and Golden City HS.
>> Is a 1980 graduate of the College of the Ozarks where he earned his bachelor's of science in physical education.
Assistant Coaches
>> Shayla Conner enters her fourth season as an assistant coach for the Ichabods.
>> The former All-American setter has helped guide Washburn to a 90-29 record in her first three seasons.
>> In her first season she helped the Ichabods to the National Championship match. In 2022, Washburn won its first-ever MIAA Tournament Championship.
>> She has coached six total All-Americans and nine All-MIAA first team selections.
>> Cade Berg enters his third season as a member of the Ichabod coaching staff as a student assistant.
>> During his tenure Washburn has earned a pair of All-American honors and four All-MIAA first team selections.
By the Numbers
>> 2: NCAA Central Region Championships won by Washburn in the past five seasons.
>> 11: Number of sweeps this season.
>> 13: Number of returning members of the 2023 team.
>> 23: Consecutive winning seasons for Washburn all coming under Chris Herron.
>> 136: Consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match.
>> 621: Career victories for Herron at Washburn.
Ranking Roundup
>> Washburn is 26th in the nation and fourth in the MIAA with 13.84 kills per set.
>> The Ichabods are also hitting efficiently, sitting 38th in the nation in hitting percentage at .238 as a team, third highest mark in the conference.
>> Washburn has been effective at stopping opponents attacks as they rank 34th in the nation and fourth among conference teams with a .148 opponent hitting percentage.
>> With 12.86 assists per set the Ichabods rank 22nd in the nation and 3rd in the MIAA at setting up kills.
>> On defense Washburn averages 17.54 digs per set ranking 33rd in the nation and eighth in the conference.
>> With 210.5 total blocks on the year the Ichabods have the 23rd most in the nation and third most in the MIAA.
>> They rank 14th in the nation and are the top team in the MIAA with 2.54 blocks per set.
Milestone Markers
>> Jalyn Stevenson ranks 15th in program history with 1,234 career kills. She will move into 14th with 21 more kills. She is also seventh on the program charts in aces and 19th in digs. She needs four aces to move up to 5th.
>> Corinna McMullen is 12th in program history in total assists with 1,940. She is 13th in program history in service aces with 119. She needs two more to move up to 12th.
>> Sydney Conner has 1,387 career assists, putting her 15th in Washburn history. She needs 128 assists to move up to 14th.
>> With 850 career digs Taylor Rottinghaus is climbing the all-time charts and currently ranks 33rd.
>> Austin Broadie ranks in the top-40 in Ichabod history in both blocks and kills sitting 33rd and 39th respectively.
Scouting the Opposition
About the Nebraska Kearney Lopers
>> Nebraska Kearney enters the weekend with a 24-1 mark overall and an 11-1 record inside the MIAA after sweeping Newman on Saturday for a fourth straight victory.
>> The Lopers are 14-0 in matches played in the Health & Sports Center while going 6-1 on the road and 4-0 in neutral court contests.
>> UNK is ranked No. 5 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll from October 7.
>> Rick Squiers is in his 26th season as the head coach at Nebraska Kearney. He has a 798-111 record with the Lopers and has 1,004 career collegiate coaching victories.
>> Assistant coaches Samantha Hammond and Maddie Squiers along with graduate assistant Jaden Ferguson complete the coaching staff.
>> On the year the Lopers average 15.1 kills per set while hitting .264. They also carry averages of 14.5 assists per set with 19.2 digs and 2.3 blocks. They are first in the conference in kills per set, assists per set and opponent hitting percentage.
>> Mia Berg leads the team with 238 kills (3.40 per set) while hitting a team-high .346 and starting all 24 matches. She also leads the team with 74 total blocks and has added 43 digs. She is 2nd in the MIAA in hitting percentage, fourth in hitting percentage and sixth in kills per set.
>> Peyton Neff has 965 assists (12.70 per set) to pace the Lopers while starting all 24 matches. She has made 196 digs (2.58 per set), fourth most on the team. She is second in the nation in assists per set and 6th nationally in total assists. She leads the MIAA in both categories.
>> Alli Wiese averages 5.53 digs per set for 420 total digs to lead Nebraska Kearney. She has played all 24 matches and added 63 assists with 25 service aces. She is second in the MIAA in both digs per set and total digs. In digs per set she ranks 10th nationally.
>> Asha Regier is second on the team in kills with 220 (3.24 per set) while hitting .247. She has played in 23 matches and started 20 while adding 31 blocks and 44 digs.
>> Nebraska Kearney leads the all-time series 32-14 while Washburn is 8-8 when playing inside of Lee Arena.
>> The Lopers swept the Ichabods in Kearney earlier in the season. Corinna McMullen had 22 assists in the match and Heather Schemper led with nine kills.
About the Fort Hays State Tigers
>> Fort Hays State enters the weekend with a 12-9 record overall and a 4-8 mark in the MIAA after sweeping Pittsburg State on Saturday for its second straight win.
>> The Tigers are 3-4 in road contests, 5-5 inside Gross Memorial Coliseum and 4-0 in neutral court matches.
>> Jessica Wood-Atkins is in her 7th season at the helm of the Fort Hays State program. She has a 65-114 record in Hays.
>> Assistant coach Carolynne Barbosa and graduate assistant Giovanna Kuntze round out the coaching staff.
>> On the year the Tigers average 12.9 kills per set while hitting .199. They also carry averages of 11.7 assists per set with 16.6 digs and 2.3 blocks. They are fourth in the conference in total bocks.
>> Gracie Rains leads the team with 302 kills (3.55 per set) while hitting .214. She has appeared in 21 matches making 14 starts and has added 30 blocks. Her kills per set average is second best in the conference and she also ranks second in total kills.
>> Caiya Stucky leads the passing attack with 742 total assists (8.94 per set). She has started 20 of 21 matches while making 156 digs (1.88 per set) and adding 75 kills. She is 5th in the conference in assists and assists per set.
>> With 347 digs (4.08 per set) Kirsten Evans leads the Tigers while playing all 21 matches. She has added 58 assists and served a team-high 27 aces.
>> Taytum Lovesee leads the team with 90 blocks including 16 solo stops. She has added 92 kills while starting in all 21 matches.
>> Washburn leads the all-time series with Fort Hays State 48-24. The Ichabods are 26-11 against the Tigers in Lee Arena.
>> They won the first match between the two teams earlier in the season in Hays. Bella Limback led the offensive attack in the match with 12 kills while hitting .733.
Take a Look Ahead
>> Washburn will wrap up the regular season on the road next weekend against Central Oklahoma and Arkansas-Fort Smith.
>> The MIAA Championship Tournament will be held between Thursday, November 21 and Saturday, November 23 in St. Joseph, Mo. at Civic Arena.
