KEARNEY, Neb. -- No. 7 Washburn volleyball continues its postseason journey in the NCAA Central Region Semifinals against No. 6 Concordia-St. Paul in another top-10 battle.  

Setting The Schedule 

>> The Ichabods are the No. 6 seed in the central region and will face the No. 2 seeded Golden Bears at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5 in the Health & Sports Center in Kearney, Neb.  

>> Concordia-St. Paul enters the match with a 27-5 record after defeating No. 11 Central Oklahoma 3-0 in the quarterfinal round. They went 19-1 in the NSIC regular season.  

Tournament Time! 

>> Washburn enters the regional semifinals with a 22-18 all-time record in the big dance.  

>> In the regional tournament they have gone 18-15 with a 5-5 record in the semifinal round.  

>> In neutral court environments they are 19-13. 

>> They are 2-4 all-time in the regional tournament as the No. 6 seed with both wins coming in the past two seasons.  

>> Washburn and Concordia-St. Paul are 2-2 all-time in the postseason against one another.  

>> Washburn is 5-2 over their last four appearances in the regional tournament.  

Serving Up Facts 

>> The Ichabods heads into the semifinals with a 27-4 record overall and a 13-3 mark inside the MIAA after sweeping No. 4 Wayne State College in the quarterfinal round on Thursday morning.  

>> Washburn went 12-1 in Whiting Fieldhouse while going 10-1 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 5-4 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 339 kills (3.26 per set) while hitting .310, third best on the team. She has started all 31 matches and also has racked up 67 blocks with 66 digs. The senior has 17 double-digit kill matches, a team-high. 

>> Bella Limback is slashing .443 with 207 kills (2.03 per set) while playing and starting in all 31 matches. She has also added 121 blocks (1.19 per set), also team high, and served 14 aces. She has hit over .400 in 20 matches this season with four double-digit kill efforts.  

>> Corinna McMullen has started all 31 matches this season and leads Washburn with 649 assists (6.30 per set). She has also chipped in 31 service aces, a team-high, while ranking 2nd on the team with 274 digs (2.66 per set). The senior has delivered 17 matches of 20+ assists with 12 double-doubles. 

>> Taylor Rottinghaus has suited up as the libero in every match this season leading the team with 455 digs (4.38 per set). She has chipped in 117 assists to put her third on the team. She has served 30 aces as well, second most on the squad. The junior has six matches making at least 20 digs including 25 in just three sets in the quarterfinal round.  

>> 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.  

>> Keilah Rivers has slashed 214 kills (2.16 per set), third most on the team, and is hitting .176 while starting in 29 matches and playing in all 31. She is tied for fourth on the team serving 26 aces while scooping up 234 digs (2.36 per set) and making 41 blocks. She has six double-figure kill matches and two double-doubles.  

>> Brynne Topolski is second on the Ichabods with 261 kills (2.56 per set) while hitting .272. She has come off the bench in all 31 matches while making 54 blocks with 48 digs. The sophomore has 11 matches with double-digit kills. 

>> Sydney Conner has appeared at setter in 29 matches for the Ichabods off the bench and is second on the team with 459 assists (5.10 per set). She has added 24 aces along with 170 digs (1.89 per set). The senior has registered seven matches with 20+ assists and four double-doubles.  

>> Autumn Gibbs has played in all 31 matches while making seven starts. The junior transfer is third on the team with 258 digs (2.48 per set) and has a .975 reception percentage. She has served 26 aces and dished 49 assists. She has ten double-figure dig matches.  

>> Emery Keebaugh has made 11 starts while playing in 24 matches to register 108 kills (1.86 per set) while slashing .205. She has scooped up 43 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 16 matches making eight starts all coming in the last eight matches. She has made 51 kills (1.34 per set) while hitting .292. She has added 39 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 28 matches this season off the bench, serving 11 aces and recording 12 digs.  

>> Sydney Buscher has played in 11 matches off the bench recording 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 651-144 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 19 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, 94 All-Region/District awards and 49 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 120-37 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. 

>> 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.   

>> 21: 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.  

>> 651: Career victories for Herron at Washburn.  

Milestone Markers 

>> Corinna McMullen is 6th in program history in total assists with 2,786. She is 2nd in program history in service aces with 155. Her 1,112 career digs rank 25th in program history. She needs five 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 1,004 kills she ranks 25th. She also sits 19th in career attack percentage at .262. 

>> With 1,468 career digs Taylor Rottinghaus is climbing the all-time charts and currently ranks 9th in program history. In digs per set she is 4th in Washburn history at 4.71.   

>> Sydney Conner has 1,981 career assists, putting her 12th in Washburn history. In assists per set she also ranks 13th among all Ichabods at 4.74. 

>> Bella Limback's has 320 total blocks in her career putting her 19th on the all-time charts. She is 16th in blocks per set with 0.90 each set. Her career attacking percentage of .328 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 Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears 

>> Concordia-St. Paul improved to 27-5 after defeating No. 11 Central Oklahoma 3-0 in the quarterfinals on Thursday afternoon. They went 19-1 in the NSIC regular season.  

>> The Golden Bears went 13-1 at home on the year, are 9-2 on the road and 5-2 in neutral court matches.  

>> They are ranked No. 6 nationally in the latest AVCA poll and are the No. 2 seed in the Central regional. 

>> Brady Starkey is in his 20th season as the head coach at Concordia-St. Paul where he has a 686-96 record.  

>> Assistant coaches Whitney Meierotto-Simon, Justin Tuohy and Teagan Starkey round out the coaching staff.  

>> As a team the Golden Bears hit .294 with 14.8 kills per set. They also average 13.8 assists, 16.7 digs and 2.1 blocks per set.  

>> Makenna Nold leads the team with 454 kills (4.20 per set) while hitting .267. She was the central region player of the year while starting all 32 matches for Concordia-St. Pau. She adds a team-high 46 aces, 290 digs (2.69 per set) and 94 blocks.  

>> Reagan Hickey leads the passing attack with 759 assists (7.16 per set) while playing in 32 matches and starting 21. She has added 182 digs (1.72 per set).  

>> Cassie Sieling leads the Golden Bears with 455 digs (4.21 per set) while playing in all 32 matches with one start. She has served 43 aces and added 96 assists.  

>> Mehlayna Straub is second on the team with 312 kills (2.92 per set) while hitting a team-high .375. She is also second on the team with 85 blocks including a team-best 19 solo rejections.  

>> Concordia-St. Paul has a 4-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two teams. All seven meetings have come on neutral courts.  

>> The series began on Aug. 30, 2003 with a 3-2 win for Washburn in San Antonio, Texas. The last meeting between the two teams was a 3-0 win for the Ichabods in the 2021 Central Region Championship.  

Take a Look Ahead 

>> The championship match is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday night. With a win the Ichabods would face the winner of the other semifinal match between Nebraska Kearney and St. Cloud State.