TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 6 Washburn volleyball wraps up its two-week road swing facing No. 3 Nebraska Kearney at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7 and Fort Hays State on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the final road regular season matches on the schedule. 
 

Setting The Schedule

>> No. 6 Washburn plays its final regular season road matches this week as they travel to face No. 3 Nebraska Kearney and Fort Hays State. 

>> The Ichabods will take on the Lopers in a top-10 battle at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7 inside the Health & Sports Center. They face the Tigers in Hays at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 8. 

>> Nebraska Kearney enters the week on a five-match winning streak with a 23-2 overall record while Fort Hays State is 15-9 overall and just 4-8 inside the MIAA. 

Serving Up Facts

>> The Ichabods enter the week with a 21-2 record overall and a 10-2 mark inside the MIAA after going 1-1 last week, finishing with a 3-0 sweep over Northwest Missouri State on Nov. 1. 

>> Washburn is 10-1 in Whiting Fieldhouse while going 7-0 in neutral court matches and 4-1 in road matches. 

>> The Ichabods were picked to finish third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll with 98 total points. The MIAA Tournament will once again be seeded based on KPI Rankings and not final regular season standings. 

>> Washburn moves to No. 6 in the AVCA rankings this week, moving down from No. 2 where they were ranked the past three weeks. They received 953 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 3-2 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 251 kills (3.30 per set) while hitting .344, third best on the team. She has started all 23 matches and also has logged 50 blocks with 49 digs. The senior has twelve double-digit kill matches and ranks 57th nationally in hitting percentage and 3rd in the MIAA. She is 3rd among conference players in kills per set and points per set. 

>> Bella Limback is slashing a team-high .493 with 147 kills (1.99 per set) while playing and starting in all 23 matches. She has also added 85 blocks (1.15 per set), also team high, and served 12 aces. She has hit over .400 in all but six matches this season with three double-digit kill efforts. She leads the nation in hitting percentage and is 4th in the MIAA in blocks per set and 35th in the nation.

>> 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. The senior ranks 2nd in the nation and 2nd in the MIAA in hitting percentage among qualified hitters. She is also 6th in the MIAA in blocks per set and 55th nationally. 

>> Corinna McMullen has started all 23 matches this season and leads Washburn with 482 assists (6.43 per set). She has also chipped in a team-high 29 service aces while ranking 2nd on the team with 196 digs (2.61 per set). The senior has delivered 13 matches of 20+ assists with nine double-doubles. She ranks 6th in the conference in aces per set and 7th in assists per set.  

>> Taylor Rottinghaus has suited up as the libero in every match this season leading the team with 311 digs (4.09 per set). She has chipped in 95 assists while serving 25 aces as well, second most on the team. The junior has three matches making at least 20 digs. She ranks 7th in the MIAA in digs per set and 11th in total digs. 

>> Keilah Rivers has slashed 156 kills (2.20 per set) this season and is hitting .172 while starting in 21 matches and playing in all 23. She is tied for third on the team serving 19 aces while scooping up 155 digs (2.18 per set) and making 30 blocks. She has four double-figure kill matches and one double-double. 

>> Brynne Topolski is second on the Ichabods with 179 kills (2.42 per set) while hitting .274. She has come off the bench in all 23 matches while making 41 blocks with 32 digs. She has six matches with double-digit kills.

>> Sydney Conner has appeared at setter in 21 matches for the Ichabods off the bench and is second on the team with 305 assists (4.92 per set). She has added 19 aces along with 116 digs (1.87 per set). The senior has registered four matches with 20+ assists and three double-doubles. Her assists per set rank 14th in the MIAA. 

>> Autumn Gibbs has played in all 23 matches while making five starts. The junior transfer is third on the team with 172 digs (2.26 per set) and has a .975 reception percentage. She has served 18 aces and dished 33 assists. She has six double-figure dig matches. 

>> Emery Keebaugh has made 11 starts while playing in 18 matches to register 90 kills (1.96 per set) while slashing .216. She has scooped up 34 digs with 14 blocks.

>> Natalie Hedlund has played in 15 matches making nine starts to record 73 kills (1.78 per set) while hitting .216. She has made 25 total blocks.

>> Shannon Frakes is third on the team with 97 assists (3.73 per set) while playing in 17 matches off the bench. She has served seven aces and made 34 digs (1.31 per set) as well.  

>> Kali Henry has played in 22 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 htiting .359.

Head Coach Chris Herron

>> Herron is in his 24th season at the helm of the Ichabod volleyball program with a career record of 645-142 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 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 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 114-35 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.

>> 10: Number of sets lost this season. 

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

>> 18: Number of sweeps this year. 

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

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

>> 156: Consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match. 

>> 645: Career victories for Herron at Washburn. 

Ranking Roundup

>> Washburn leads the nation and the MIAA with a .297 team hitting percentage as a team. 

>> The Ichabods are 14th nationally and 3rd among MIAA teams with 2.49 blocks per set. 

>> On the defensive side Washburn is limiting opponents to a .129 hitting percentage, good for 11th nationally and 1st in the MIAA. 

>> The Ichabods are dishing out 13.68 assists per set on offense, good for 7th in the nation and second in the MIAA. 

>> Washburn knocks down 14.57 kills per set to rank 9th in all of DII and second among MIAA programs. 

>> Serving up 1.95 aces per set, the Ichabods are first in the MIAA and 68th nationally. 

Milestone Markers

>> Corinna McMullen is 6th in program history in total assists with 2,619. She is 2nd in program history in service aces with 153. Her 1,034 career digs rank 26th in program history. She needs seven 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 254 blocks are tied for 28th most and with 916 kills she ranks 26th. She also sits 19th in career attack percentage at .265.

>> With 1,324 career digs Taylor Rottinghaus is climbing the all-time charts and currently ranks 18th. In digs per set she is 4th in Washburn history at 4.66.  

>> Sydney Conner has 1,827 career assists, putting her 13th in Washburn history. In assists per set she ranks 14th among all Ichabods. 

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

>> Bella Limback's has 284 total blocks in her career putting her 22nd on the all-time charts. She is 16th in blocks per set with 0.87 each set. 

Scouting the Opposition

About the Nebraska Kearney Lopers

>> Nebraska Kearney has won five straight matches to move to 23-2 overall and 10-2 in the MIAA after sweeping Newman last time out on Nov. 1. 

>> The Lopers are 11-0 inside the Heath & Sports Center while going 8-2 in road matches and 4-0 in neutral court battles. 

>> They are ranked No. 3 in the latest AVCA poll. 

>> Rick Squiers is in his 27th season as the head coach at Nebraska Kearney where he has a 827-116 record. He is third among active coaches with 1,033 career victories. 

>> The rest of the coaching staff consists of Samantha Hammond, Lauren Taubenheim, Maddie Squiers, Breanna Shaffer and Mya Maxwell. 

>> The Lopers as a team slash 14.7 kills while hitting .283. They also average 13.7 assists per set, 17.2 digs and 2.5 blocks. They are first in the MIAA in kills and assists per set while ranking second in the conference in hitting percentage. 

>> Carly Purdy leads the team with 279 kills (3.58 per set) while hitting .251. She has started in 22 matches playing in all 25. She has also scooping 57 digs and making 37 blocks. She is 1st in the MIAA in kills per set and 59th nationally. 

>> Peyton Neff controls the offense with 889 assists (11.25 per set) while starting in all 25 matches. She has served 15 aces and made 48 kills while scooping 200 digs (2.53 per set). She ranks 2nd in the MIAA and 9th in the nation in assists per set. 

>> Ellie Spang leads the back row defense with 352 digs (4.40 per set) playing in all 25 matches. She has served a team-high 21 aces and assisted on 70 kills. She is 5th in the MIAA and 85th nationally in digs per set. 

>> Abby Rose has played and started in 24 matches hitting a team-high .329 with 151 kills (2.19 per set). She also leads the team with 56 blocks and has added 55 digs. She is 4th in the MIAA in hitting percentage. 

>> Nebraska Kearney leads the all-time series between the programs 33-16. Washburn is 4-11 against the Lopers in Kearney. 

>> The series started on Sept. 25, 1976. In the meeting earlier this season the Ichabods defeated Nebraska Kearney 3-0 on Oct. 11. 

About the Fort Hays State Tigers

>> Fort Hays State fell to 15-9 overall and 4-8 in the MIAA after losing 3-1 to Pittsburg State last time out on Nov. 1. 

>> The Tigers have gone 9-4 in Hays, 3-5 on the road and 3-0 in neutral court matches. 

>> Jessica Wood-Atkins is in her 8th season as the head coach of the Fort Hays State volleyball program where she has gone 80-128. 

>> Assistant coaches Carolynne Barbosa, Giovanna Kuntze, Tallon Rentschler and Anna Reis complete the coaching staff. 

>> As a team the Tigers hit .205 with 13.4 kills per set. They also average 12.0 assists, 16.1 digs and 1.8 blocks per set. They rank 3rd in the MIAA in total kills and 4th in assists. 

>> Gracie Rains has started in 11 matches while playing in all 24 to lead the team with 225 kills (2.78 per set). She is hitting .228 while adding 45 digs and 19 blocks. 

>> Kirsten Evans paces the Tigers with 330 digs (3.79 per set) while serving as libero in all 24 matches. She has served a team-high 34 aces with 72 assists. She is 5th in the MIAA in aces per set and 8th in total digs. 

>> Abrey Galt has started in 18 of 24 matches and leads the team with 517 assists (6.15 per set). She has added 35 kills, 22 aces and scooped 197 digs (2.35 per set). 

>> Washburn has a 50-24 edge in the all-time series after winning the last three meetings. They are 21-9 against the Tigers on the road. 

>> The series began on Oct. 26. 1973. The Ichabods won 3-0 in the most recent meeting on Oct. 10 of this season. 

Take a Look Ahead

>> Washburn will head into the final week of the regular season at home taking on Central Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14 before a senior day meeting and regular season finale against Arkansas-Fort Smith at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15. 

>> The MIAA Tournament will begin Nov. 20 and run through Nov. 22 in St. Joseph, Mo. at Civic Arena. 

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