TOPEKA, Kan. -- The NCAA Tournament begins for No. 7 Washburn volleyball as they face the No. 4 nationally ranked Wayne State College in the central region quarterfinals in Kearney, Neb. at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4. 
 

Setting The Schedule

>> No. 7 Washburn volleyball begins its 19th appearance in the NCAA Tournament facing No. 4 nationally ranked Wayne State College in a top-10 meeting. 

>> The Ichabods are the No. 6 seed in the central region and will face the No. 3 seeded Wildcats at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4 in the Health & Sports Center in Kearney, Neb. 

>> Wayne State College enters the tournament with a 27-4 record on the year after going 19-1 in the NSIC regular season. They fell 3-1 to No. 11 St. Cloud State last time out in the semifinal round of the NSIC Tournament on Nov. 21. 

Tournament Time!

>> Washburn enters the NCAA Tournament with a 21-18 all-time record in the big dance. 

>> In the regional tournament they have gone 17-15 with a 9-8 record in the quarterfinal round. 

>> In neutral court environment they are 18-13.

>> They are 1-4 all-time in the regional tournament as the No. 6 seed. 

>> This will be the first ever postseason meeting between the Ichabods and Wayne State College. 

>> Washburn is 4-2 over their last three appearances in the regional tournament. 

Serving Up Facts

>> The Ichabods heads into the national tournament with a 26-4 record overall and a 13-3 mark inside the MIAA after losing 3-0 to Nebraska Kearney in the MIAA Tournament Championship on Nov. 22. 

>> Washburn is 12-1 in Whiting Fieldhouse while going 9-1 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 remains No. 7 in the most recent AVCA poll released on Nov. 24. They received 886 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 4-4 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 326 kills (3.23 per set) while hitting .312, third best on the team. She has started all 30 matches and also has racked up 67 blocks with 64 digs. The senior has 16 double-digit kill matches and ranks 116th nationally in hitting percentage and 5th in the MIAA. She is 5th among conference players in points per set and kills per set. 

>> Bella Limback is slashing a team-high .457 with 202 kills (2.04 per set) while playing and starting in all 30 matches. She has also added 115 blocks (1.16 per set), also team high, and served 13 aces. She has hit over .400 in 20 matches this season with four double-digit kill efforts. She is 2nd in the nation and MIAA in hitting percentage. She is also is 5th in the MIAA in blocks per set and 31st in the nation.

>> Corinna McMullen has started all 30 matches this season and leads Washburn with 631 assists (6.36 per set). She has also chipped in 30 service aces, tied for the most on the team, while ranking 2nd on the team with 265 digs (2.65 per set). The senior has delivered 17 matches of 20+ assists with 12 double-doubles. She ranks 8th in the conference in assists per set. 

>> Taylor Rottinghaus has suited up as the libero in every match this season leading the team with 430 digs (4.26 per set). She has chipped in 112 assists while serving 30 aces as well, tied for the most on the team. The junior has five matches making at least 20 digs. She ranks 7th in the MIAA in digs per set and in total digs. 

>> 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, best on the team. She has recorded five or more blocks in nine matches. The senior ranks 1st in the nation and in the MIAA in hitting percentage among qualified hitters. She is also 6th in the MIAA in blocks per set and 61st nationally. 

>> Keilah Rivers has slashed 205 kills (2.14 per set), third most on the team, and is hitting .170 while starting in 28 matches and playing in all 30. She is tied for fourth on the team serving 24 aces while scooping up 219 digs (2.28 per set) and making 40 blocks. She has six double-figure kill matches and two double-doubles. 

>> Brynne Topolski is second on the Ichabods with 254 kills (2.57 per set) while hitting .277. She has come off the bench in all 30 matches while making 50 blocks with 46 digs. She has 11 matches with double-digit kills and is 13th in the MIAA in hitting percentage. 

>> Sydney Conner has appeared at setter in 28 matches for the Ichabods off the bench and is second on the team with 441 assists (5.07 per set). She has added 24 aces along with 163 digs (1.87 per set). The senior has registered seven matches with 20+ assists and four double-doubles. Her assists per set rank 14th in the MIAA. 

>> Autumn Gibbs has played in all 30 matches while making six starts. The junior transfer is third on the team with 243 digs (2.41 per set) and has a .975 reception percentage. She has served 25 aces and dished 46 assists. She has nine double-figure dig matches. 

>> Emery Keebaugh has made 11 starts while playing in 23 matches to register 104 kills (1.89 per set) while slashing .204. She has scooped up 40 digs with 18 blocks.

>> Natalie Hedlund has played in 22 matches making 15 starts to record 123 kills (1.89 per set) while hitting .161. She has made 40 total blocks while adding 52 digs and has three double-figure kill matches. 

>> Brooklyn Morrissey has played in 15 matches making seven starts all coming in the last seven matches. She has made 42 kills (1.20 per set) while hitting .265. She has added 37 blocks and 10 digs. 

>> Shannon Frakes is fourth on the team with 103 assists (3.43 per set) while playing in 20 matches off the bench. She has served seven aces and made 36 digs (1.20 per set) as well.  

>> Kali Henry has played in 27 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 650-144 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 119-37 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.

>> 19: Number of sets lost this season. 

>> 19: Number of NCAA Tournament appearances under Herron.  

>> 20: Number of sweeps this year. 

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

>> 158: Consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match. 

>> 650: Career victories for Herron at Washburn. 

Ranking Roundup

>> Washburn is eighth in the nation while leading the MIAA with a .278 team hitting percentage.

>> The Ichabods are 10th nationally and 4th among MIAA teams with 2.50 blocks per set. 

>> On the defensive side Washburn is limiting opponents to a .135 hitting percentage, good for 13th nationally and 1st in the MIAA. 

>> The Ichabods are dishing out 13.51 assists per set on offense, good for 7th in the nation and first in the MIAA. 

>> Washburn knocks down 14.52 kills per set to rank 8th in all of DII and second among MIAA programs. 

>> Serving up 1.70 aces per set, the Ichabods are 2nd in the MIAA and 125th nationally. 

Milestone Markers

>> Corinna McMullen is 6th in program history in total assists with 2,768. She is 2nd in program history in service aces with 154. Her 1,103 career digs rank 25th 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 271 blocks are 24th most and with 991 kills she ranks 26th. She also sits 19th in career attack percentage at .262.

>> With 1,443 career digs Taylor Rottinghaus is climbing the all-time charts and currently ranks tied for 12th in program history. In digs per set she is 4th in Washburn history at 4.67.  

>> Sydney Conner has 1,963 career assists, putting her 12th in Washburn history. In assists per set she also ranks 13th among all Ichabods at 4.73.

>> Bella Limback's has 314 total blocks in her career putting her 19th on the all-time charts. She is 16th in blocks per set with 0.89 each set. Her career attacking percentage of .331 is 4th in Washburn history. 

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

Scouting the Opposition

About the Wayne State College Wildcats

>> Wayne State is 27-4 overall on the year after going 19-1 in the NSIC regular season. They fell 3-1 to No. 11 St. Cloud State in the NSIC Semifinals last time out on Nov. 21.

>> The Wildcats went 12-0 playing in Wayne, Neb., 10-2 in road matches and 5-2 in neutral court meetings. 

>> They are ranked No. 4 nationally in the latest AVCA poll and are the No. 3 seed in the Central regional

>> Scott Kneifl is in his 20th season as the head coach of the Wayne State volleyball program where he has a 501-156 record. 

>> Assistant coaches Kim DePew and Katie Morris round out the coaching staff. 

>> As a team the Wildcats hit .282 with 14.4 kills per set. They also average 12.9 assists, 17.0 digs and 1.8 blocks per set. They rank 2nd in the NSIC and 5th in the nation in hitting percentage while also ranking 25th nationally in assists per set. 

>> Delaney Miller leads the team with 387 kills (3.83 kills per set) while hitting .292. She has played in 30 matches making 14 starts and is adding 50 digs with 22 blocks. She is 36th in the nation in kills per set and 79th nationally in points per set. 

>> Molly Romano leads the passing attack with 1,249 assists (11.25 per set) while starting in all 31 matches. She has added 273 digs (2.46 per set) along with making 96 kills and serving 21 aces. She is 9th in the nation in assists per set.  

>> Anna Borner is the libero for the Wildcats stacking a team-high 423 digs (3.81 per set) while playing in every match. She has also served 33 aces and ranked 9th in the NSIC in digs per set. 

>> Channatee Robles is second on the team with 384 kills (3.46 per set) while starting in all 31 matches. She has served a team-high 49 aces while scooping up 347 digs (3.13), second most on the team. She is 4th in the NSIC and 61st nationally in points per set while ranking 35th nationally in service aces. 

>> Wayne State leads the all-time series between the two teams 12-4. The Ichabods are 1-4 against the Wildcats in neutral court matches. 

>> The series began on Oct. 9, 1976. The two teams have not met since Oct. 10, 2003 when the Ichabods won a 3-0 match in Topeka. 

Take a Look Ahead

>> With a win in the quarterfinal round, Washburn would face the winner of the match between the No. 7 seed Central Oklahoma and the No. 2 seed Concordia-St. Paul at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5.