ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- The 2024 season for Washburn volleyball came to an end in the NCAA Central Region Semifinals as they fell 3-2 to No. 6 Central Oklahoma on Friday afternoon. The Ichabods end the season with a 21-8 record and program's 18th trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Washburn (21-8) took the first set from the Bronchos (32-2) 25-20 before falling in each of the next two sets 25-21 and 25-18. They forced a fifth set with a 25-19 win in the fourth but came up short in the fifth as Central Oklahoma won 15-8.
Both teams traded points to begin the match as they split the first 16 points. A service error for Central Oklahoma began a 4-0 Ichabod run to put them ahead 12-9. A kill by Jalyn Stevenson made it 19-15 but the lead never grew to more than four until Taryn Pridgett ended the set with a kill at 25-20. The Ichabods hit .283 in the set with 18 kills.
The second set began the same way with both teams splitting the first 20 points of the match to leave it tied at 10. A three-point run by the Bronchos put them ahead 16-13 and create separation. The lead remained intact even with a 3-0 burst by Washburn beginning with a kill from Austin Broadie to leave the set at 20-19. After pulling within one once again Central Oklahoma ended the set at 25-21 with three straight kills.
Kills by Stevenson and Broadie put the Ichabods in front 9-6 in the third set. The Bronchos responded right back with five of the next six points to take the lead. Washburn went in front once more before a 6-0 Central Oklahoma burst created a five-point advantage for the No. 2 seed in the region. The Bronchos offense continued to churn, hitting .333 in the set with 15 kills as they worked a 25-18 victory to go up 2-1 in the match.
The Ichabods trailed by three in the fourth until three straight points beginning with a kill by Emery Keebaugh tied things up. They went in front shortly after with a four-point burst starting with a kill via Alex Dvorak on a Corinna McMullen pass. After trailing by four Central Oklahoma came back to tie it at 15 and would tie it twice more but each time Washburn had an answer. The final answer began with a kill from Pridgett to spark a 6-0 run to set up set point for Keebaugh to finish out with a kill.
The Bronchos jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the fifth set as they hit an efficient .444 in the frame. A service error put Washburn within two points but that was as close as they would get with Central Oklahoma finishing on a 4-1 run to clinch the match.
After five sets the Ichabods finished with a narrow hitting advantage, .239 to .239, while the Bronchos picked up one extra kill at 70-69. Both teams were tied at 96 digs in the match while Central Oklahoma led 67-65 in assists and 15-7 blocks. Service aces also went 5-1 in favor of UCO.
Taryn Pridgett led Washburn with 15 kills while Jalyn Stevenson had a 14-kill double-double adding 13 digs. Austin Broadie had 14 kills and Emery Keebaugh and Alex Dvorak also finished with double-figure kills at 11 and 10 respectively. Corinna McMullen and Sydney Conner each had double-doubles from setter, McMullen with 33 and 13 while Conner posted 22 and 20. Taylor Rottinghaus had a team-high 24 digs.
Jenna Karp was one of four Bronchos in double-figures for kills as she had 20 on .353 hitting. Lindsey Houran had a 62-assist and 12-dig double-double.
Season Notes
