TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 7 Washburn continues its postseason run on Friday night facing off with Pittsburg State. The Ichabods will face the No. 7 seeded Gorillas in the semifinal round beginning at 5 p.m. from Civic Arena.  

Setting The Schedule 

>> The No. 7 Ichabods will be the first match of the day in St. Joseph facing Pittsburg State at 5 p.m. inside Civic Arena for a trip to the MIAA Championship. 

>> With their quarterfinal win, the Gorillas move to 14-14 on the year after going 6-10 during the MIAA regular season.  

Tournament Time! 

>> Washburn is now 18-16 overall in the MIAA tournament after winning Thursday.  

>> The Ichabods are 5-6 all-time in the semifinal round.  

>> In neutral court tournament matches they are 7-8.  

>> As the higher seed they are 15-7 against lower ranked opponents.  

>> They are 3-4 all-time as the No. 3 seed and are 2-1 against Pittsburg State in the tournament overall.  

All-MIAA Honors 

>> On Wednesday afternoon seven Ichabods were named to All-MIAA teams announced by the conference.  

>> Leading the way was Austin Broadie who earned Player of the Year honors in the conference and was named a unanimus first-team selection. She is the fourth MIAA POTY in program history and the first since Genna Berg in 2019.  

>> Bella Limback also earned first team honors for the first time in her career. It was her second overall All-MIAA selection. 

>> Taylor Rottinghaus and Corinna McMullen each earned All-MIAA second team honors for a third straight season. It is the fourth straight year of recognition for McMullen.  

>> Also repeating as a second team selection is Alex Dvorak. She earns second team honors for a second straight year as an Ichabod.  

>> Brynne Topolski earns her first All-MIAA nod of her career as a member of the second team at outside hitter.  

>> Keilah Rivers also is recognized for the first time in her career. She earned honorable mention honors also at outside hitter.  

Serving Up Facts 

>> With the quarterfinal round win over Central Missouri, Washburn moves to 25-3 overall on the year after going 13-3 in the MIAA regular season.  

>> Washburn is 12-1 in Whiting Fieldhouse while going 8-0 in neutral court matches and 5-2 in road matches.  

>> The Ichabods were picked to finish third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll with 98 total points. They ended the season tied for first.  

>> Washburn moves to No. 7 in the AVCA rankings this week, moving up from being ranked No. 8 last week. They received 904 total points in the poll.  

>> The Ichabods went 21-8 overall last season and 11-5 inside the MIAA, finishing fourth in the regular season. They advanced to the NCAA Central Region Semifinals.  

>> Last year Washburn went 2-4 against AVCA Top-25 opponents. They are 4-3 against ranked opponents this season.  

>> The 2025 roster is balanced by class once again. It is the second time in the Chris Herron era with at least four players from each class, the first time coming in 2024.  

The Blue Bunch 

>> Austin Broadie leads the Washburn offense with 311 kills (3.31 per set) while hitting .327, third best on the team. She has started all 28 matches and also has logged 59 blocks with 57 digs. The senior has 16 double-digit kill matches. 

>> Bella Limback is slashing a team-high .467 with 185 kills (2.01 per set) while playing and starting in all 28 matches. She has also added 105 blocks (1.14 per set), also team high, and served 12 aces. She has hit over .400 in all but nine matches this season with three double-digit kill efforts.  

>> Alex Dvorak is second on the team with 74 blocks (1.07 per set) on the season while starting in all 22 matches she has played in. Offensively she has made 137 kills (1.99 per set) along with hitting .462, second best on the team. She has recorded five or more blocks in nine matches.  

>> Corinna McMullen has started all 28 matches this season and leads Washburn with 591 assists (6.35 per set). She has also chipped in a team-high 30 service aces while ranking 2nd on the team with 246 digs (2.65 per set). The senior has delivered 16 matches of 20+ assists with 11 double-doubles.  

>> Taylor Rottinghaus has suited up as the libero in every match this season leading the team with 394 digs (4.19 per set). She has chipped in 109 assists while serving 29 aces as well, second most on the team. The junior has four matches making at least 20 digs.  

>> Keilah Rivers has slashed 190 kills (2.13 per set) this season and is hitting .176 while starting in 26 matches and playing in all 28. She is fifth on the team serving 22 aces while scooping up 204 digs (2.29 per set) and making 37 blocks. She has five double-figure kill matches and one double-double.  

>> Brynne Topolski is second on the Ichabods with 236 kills (2.57 per set) while hitting .291. She has come off the bench in all 28 matches while making 50 blocks with 42 digs. She has ten matches with double-digit kills. 

>> Sydney Conner has appeared at setter in 26 matches for the Ichabods off the bench and is second on the team with 402 assists (5.03 per set). She has added 23 aces along with 151 digs (1.89 per set). The senior has registered six matches with 20+ assists and four double-doubles. 

>> Autumn Gibbs has played in all 28 matches while making six starts. The junior transfer is third on the team with 218 digs (2.32 per set) and has a .972 reception percentage. She has served 25 aces and dished 40 assists. She has eight double-figure dig matches.  

>> Natalie Hedlund has played in 20 matches making 13 starts to record 111 kills (1.88 per set) while hitting .171. She has made 37 total blocks and scooped 51 digs.  

>> Emery Keebaugh has made 11 starts while playing in 21 matches to register 93 kills (1.86 per set) while slashing .200. She has scooped up 36 digs with 16 blocks. 

>> Brooklyn Morrissey has played in 13 matches making five starts all coming in the last five matches. She has made 32 kills (1.14 per set) while hitting .267. She has added 29 blocks and nine digs. In the quarterfinal win she set a new career-high with 10 blocks, the most in a single game by an Ichabod this season.  

>> Shannon Frakes is fourth on the team with103 assists (3.55 per set) while playing in 19 matches off the bench. She has served seven aces and made 36 digs (1.24 per set) as well.   

>> Kali Henry has played in 26 matches this season off the bench, serving 11 aces and recording 12 digs.  

>> Sydney Buscher has played in 11 matches off the bench reding 20 kills while hitting .359. 

Head Coach Chris Herron 

>> Herron is in his 24th season at the helm of the Ichabod volleyball program with a career record of 649-143 at Washburn. He became the 7th active DII coach to reach 700 career victories with the season-opening victory against Colorado Christian.  

>> He has led the Ichabod to 18 NCAA Tournament appearances and seven combined MIAA titles (six 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 52 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 fifth season as an assistant coach for the Ichabods.  

>> The former All-American setter has helped guide Washburn to a 118-36 record in her first four 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 eight total All-Americans and ten All-MIAA first team selections. 

>> Camryn Turner joins the Ichabods as an assistant coach after wrapping up a two-time All-American career at Kansas in 2024. 

>> She is a Topeka, Kan. native and also plays for the Grand Rapids Rise of the PVF.  

>> Heather Schemper moves from the court to the sidelines joining Washburn as a student assistant after playing two seasons for the Ichabods.  

By the Numbers  

>> 2: NCAA Central Region Championships won by Washburn in the past six seasons. 

>> 7: Combined MIAA Championships won under Herron.  

>> 13: Number of home matches at Whiting Fieldhouse in 2025 after playing just seven at home last season. 

>> 15: Number of sets lost this season.  

>> 18: Number of NCAA Tournament appearances under Herron.   

>> 20: Number of sweeps this year.  

>> 24: Consecutive winning seasons for Washburn all coming under Chris Herron.  

>> 159: Consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match.  

>> 649: Career victories for Herron at Washburn.  

Milestone Markers 

>> Corinna McMullen is 6th in program history in total assists with 2,728. She is 2nd in program history in service aces with 154. Her 1,084 career digs rank 26th in program history. She needs six more aces to become the all-time program leader.  

>> Austin Broadie ranks in the top-30 in Ichabod history in both blocks and kills. Her 263 blocks are 25th most and with 976 kills she ranks 26th. She also sits 19th in career attack percentage at .266. 

>> With 1,407 career digs Taylor Rottinghaus is climbing the all-time charts and currently ranks 15th. In digs per set she is 4th in Washburn history at 4.66.   

>> Sydney Conner has 1,924 career assists, putting her 13th in Washburn history. In assists per set she also ranks 13th among all Ichabods at 4.72. 

>> In just 181 career sets with the Ichabods, Alex Dvorak is 34th in program history with 223 career blocks.  

>> Bella Limback has 304 total blocks in her career, putting her 20th on the all-time charts. She is 16th in blocks per set with 0.88 each set. Her career attacking percentage of .330 is 4th in Washburn history.  

Scouting the Opposition 

About the Pittsburg State Gorillas 

>> With a 3-2 quarterfinal match win over No. 16 Missouri Western, Pittsburg State moves to 14-14 on the year after going 6-10 in the MIAA.  

>> The Gorillas are 9-7 on the year inside Pittsburg, 3-6 on the road and 2-1 in neutral court matches.  

>> Megan Besecker is in her first season leading the Pittsburg State program. 

>> Assistant coaches Erin Pavlin and Remi Vargas round out the coaching staff.  

>> As a team the Gorillas hit .202 with 12.6 kills per set. They also average 11.9 assists, 17.1 digs and 3.1 blocks per set.  

>> Anna Dean is second on the team with 242 kills (2.37 per set) while hitting a team-high .318. She was the MIAA Blocker of the Year and has a team-high 161 rejections (1.58 per set).  

>> Josie McCroskey leads the team scooping 544 digs (5.18 per set) across all 28 matches. She has also served 24 aces and adds 97 assists.  

>> Leading the team in assists is Jesa Wallace with 759 (7.23 per set) on the year. She has played in 28 matches and started 24 while making 229 digs (2.18 per set).  

>> Maliyah Johnson has a team-high 249 kills with 18 starts and playing in 27 matches. She is hitting .204 on the year.  

>> Washburn leads the all-time series with Pittsburg State 67-22 and has won the last 32 meetings.  

>> The series began on Oct. 13, 1975. The Ichabods won 3-0 in Pittsburg in the only meeting between the two teams this season.  

Take a Look Ahead 

>> With a win in the opening round Washburn would face the winner of the match between the top seed Nebraska Kearney and the No. 4 seed Central Oklahoma in the Championship match on Saturday at 6 p.m.  

>> The NCAA Central Region Championship begins December 4 and runs through December 7.