ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Washburn volleyball continues dancing in the NCAA Tournament into the second round where they face No. 6 Central Oklahoma at 4 p.m. on Friday in St. Cloud, Minn.
Setting The Schedule
>> Washburn volleyball heads into the Central Region Semifinals where they face the regions No. 2 seed, Central Oklahoma.
>> The No. 6 seeded Ichabods will take on the Bronchos inside of Halenbeck Hall at 4 p.m. on Friday in St. Cloud.
Quick Hits
>> The Ichabods are 21-7 overall after going 11-5 inside the MIAA. They are 8-3 in road matches, 8-2 in neutral court contests went 6-1 in Lee Arena.
>> Washburn moved into the semifinals after knocking out No. 5 Nebraska Kearney in three sets on Thursday in the quarterfinals.
>> The Ichabods were picked to finish fourth in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll with one first place vote. They finished the regular season fourth in the final KPI rankings used to determine conference tournament seedings.
>> Washburn is receiving votes in the final AVCA Poll before the national tournament. They got 13 total points in the poll.
>> 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.
>> Jalyn Stevenson and Alex Dvorak were recognized as AVCA All-Central Region Honorable Mention selections earlier in the week.
TOURNAMENT TIME!
>> Washburn is in the NCAA Tournament for the 18th time in program history, all coming under head coach Chris Herron.
>> It is the first tournament appearance since the 2022 season for the Ichabods.
>> Washburn is 21-17 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
>> They are 7-10 as the lower seed and 18-12 in neutral court matches.
>> With a win in the semifinal round the Ichabods would face the winner of the other semifinal match between Concordia-St. Paul and St. Cloud State on Saturday.
About the Ichabods
>> Jalyn Stevenson is the team leader with 302 kills (2.82 per set) while hitting .188 across 28 matches with 28 starts. She is also second on the squad in digs with 321 (3.00 per set) and in aces with 34. She has 11 double-doubles on the year and five double-digit kill matches in the last seven.
>> Alex Dvorak leads the Washburn defense at the net with 143 blocks on the year (1.31 per set) while starting all 28 matches. She sits third on the team in kills with 230 (2.15 per set) and leads the team with a .368 hitting percentage. In 19 of 28 matches she has recorded at least five blocks, including in the quarterfinals where she tallied a career-high 11 rejections.
>> Taylor Rottinghaus has a team-high 545 digs (5.09 per set) across 28 matches. She has chipped in 82 assists and served 29 aces. She has 13 matches with 20+ digs including each of the last two matches.
>> Corinna McMullen paces Washburn with 673 assists (6.35 per set) through 28 matches with 26 starts. She is also third on the team with 252 digs (2.38 per set) while serving a team-high 42 aces. The junior has a team-high 15 double-doubles on the year including eight of the last nine matches.
>> Bella Limback is second among Ichabod hitters with a .348 attacking percentage while starting all 28 matches. She has tallied 178 kills (1.70 per set) and is second on the team with 99 blocks. She has hit .400 or better in 12 matches including two of the last four.
>> Austin Broadie is second on the team in kills and third in hitting percentage while playing in all 28 matches and making 11 starts. She has 234 kills (2.19 per set) on the year while hitting .255 and has racked up 66 total blocks. The senior has hit over .400 four times and led the Ichabods with 15 kills in the quarterfinals.
>> Sydney Conner is second on the team with 456 assists (4.47 per set) across 28 matches with two starts. The junior is tied for fourth on the squad with 204 digs (2.00 per set) while serving 14 aces. She has posted five double-doubles this season.
>> Emery Keebaugh has played in 22 matches logging six starts while making 121 kills (2.29 per set). She is hitting .207 with 25 blocks and 53 digs. She has reached double-digit kills in three of the last five matches she has appeared in including 14 kills in the quarterfinals.
>> Maddie Steiner is fourth on the team with 20 service aces while playing in all 28 matches and making 15 starts. The senior is also tied for fourth with 204 digs (1.92 per set) from the back row with eight double-digit dig matches including each of the last three outings.
>> Taryn Pridgett has played in 15 matches making seven starts with 74 total kills while hitting .221. She has added 16 digs and 21 blocks. She has led the team in kills in two of the last three matches.
>> Brynne Topolski has started in eight matches and played in 22 during her freshman season, logging 135 kills (2.05 per set) while hitting .220. She has added 33 blocks and 39 digs.
>> Natalie Hedlund has played in 22 matches making four starts to tally 82 kills while hitting .168. On the defensive end she has made 34 digs with 25 blocks.
>> Shannon Frakes has come off the bench in 15 matches to make 52 assists with five kills and four aces. She has added 26 digs defensively.
>> Keilah Rivers has tallied 47 kills (1.24 per set) across 17 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 624-139 at Washburn.
>> He has led the Ichabod to 18 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 47 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 93-32 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.
>> 12: Number of sweeps this season.
>> 13: Number of returning members of the 2023 team.
>> 18: Number of NCAA Tournament appearances under Herron.
>> 23: Consecutive winning seasons for Washburn all coming under Chris Herron.
>> 137: Consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match.
>> 624: Career victories for Herron at Washburn.
Milestone Markers
>> Jalyn Stevenson is tied for 13th in program history with 1,293 career kills. She will move into 12th with 18 more kills. She is also fifth on the program charts in aces and 19th in digs. She needs six aces to move up to 4th.
>> Corinna McMullen is 11th in program history in total assists with 2,103. She is also 9th in program history in service aces with 124. She needs five more aces to move up to eighth.
>> Sydney Conner has 1,501 career assists, putting her 15th in Washburn history. She needs 14 assists to move up to 14th.
>> With 989 career digs Taylor Rottinghaus is climbing the all-time charts and currently ranks 27th.
>> Austin Broadie ranks in the top-40 in Ichabod history in both blocks and kills sitting 32nd and 37th respectively.
>> Posting a .368 attacking percentage, Alex Dvorak currently has the 7th best mark in a single-season in program history. She is 8th in blocks per set with 1.34.
>> Bella Limback's .348 hitting percentage ranks as the 14th most efficient hitting season in program history.
Scouting the Opposition
About the Central Oklahoma Bronchos
>> Central Oklahoma, the No. 2 seed in the Central Region, advances to the semifinals after a 3-2 win over Southwest Minnesota State in the quarterfinals. They are 31-2 overall and went 14-2 in the MIAA, winning the MIAA Tournament.
>> The Bronchos went 12-1 in matches played inside Hamilton Field House while going 9-1 on the road and 10-0 in neutral court contests.
>> UCO is ranked No. 6 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll from November 25.
>> Edgar Miraku is in his 13th season leading the Central Oklahoma program where he has a 304-97 career record.
>> Assistant coaches Emily Todd and Jake Ewart, along with volunteer assistant Bill Hamiter round out the coaching staff.
>> On the year the Bronchos average 14.7 kills per set while hitting .263. They also carry averages of 13.6 assists per set with 19.2 digs and 2.3 blocks.
>> Addison Wimmer, the MIAA Player of the Year, leads the team with 365 kills (3.44 per set) while hitting .229. She has started in 32 of 33 matches she has appeared in and adds 18 aces, 38 blocks and 276 digs (2.60 per set).
>> Katie Le has played in all 33 matches to lead the team with 592 digs (5.10 per set). She has added 117 assists and 24 service aces as well.
>> Lindsey Houran has 1,286 assists (11.38 per set) as she controls the passing attack for Central Oklahoma. She has started and played in all 33 matches adding 350 digs (3.10 per set) and serving 30 aces.
>> Jenna Karp is second on the team with 317 kills (3.05 per set) while slashing a team-high .363. She has started and played in 30 matches and is second on the team with 78 total blocks.
>> Washburn leads the all-time series over Central Oklahoma 17-13. They are 3-2 in neutral court matches.
>> The Bronchos won the only encounter of the season this year with a 3-0 sweep over the Ichabods in Edmond.
Take a Look Ahead
>> With a win, Washburn would face the winner of the match between the No. 1 seed, St. Cloud State and No. 4 Concordia-St. Paul at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
