TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 7 Washburn Ichabod volleyball will enter conference play this week at home hosting Northwest Missouri State and No. 24 Missouri Western State on Friday and Saturday, both at 6 p.m. 

Setting The Schedule

>> No. 7 Washburn volleyball heads to MIAA play this week as they return home hosting Northwest Missouri State and Missouri Western. 

>> The Ichabods will take on the Bearcats at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26 and the Griffons at 6 p.m. on Saturday both inside of Whiting Fieldhouse. 

Serving Up Facts

>> The Ichabods enter the week with a 11-0 record after defeating Ouachita Baptist 3-2 the last time out on Sept. 20. They have only lost three sets all season and are on the longest winning streak for the program since 2022. 

>> Washburn is 4-0 in Whiting Fieldhouse while going 7-0 in neutral court matches, they have not played a true road match this season. 

>> 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 is ranked No. 7 in the latest AVCA rankings with 852 total points. They moved up from a No. 9 ranking last week. 

>> 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 have not faced a ranked opponent 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 120 kills (3.33 per set) while hitting .400, third best on the team. She has started all 11 matches and also has logged 20 blocks with 27 digs. The senior has five double-digit kill matchesand ranks 26th nationally in hitting percentage and 4th in the MIAA. She is 3rd among conference players in kills per set and 100th in the nation.

>> Alex Dvorak leads the team with 37 blocks (1.09 per set) on the season while starting all 11 matches. Offensively she has made 71 kills (2.09 per set) along with hitting .473, second best on the team. She has recorded five or more blocks in four matches. The senior ranks 4th in the nation and 1st in the MIAA in hitting percentage among qualified hitters. She is also 5th in the MIAA in blocks per set and 69th nationally. 

>> Corinna McMullen has started all eleven matches this season to lead Washburn with 227 assists (6.49 per set). She has also chipped in ten service aces while ranking 3rd on the team with 81 digs (2.31 per set). The senior has delivered five matches of 20+ assists and four double-doubles. She ranks 7th in the conference in assists per set.  

>> Taylor Rottinghaus has suited up as the libero in every match this season leading the team with 141 digs (3.92 per set). She has chipped in 40 assists while serving nine aces as well. The junior has a season-high of 28 digs this season, coming last timeout. She ranks 8th in the MIAA in digs per set. 

>> Bella Limback is slashing a team-high .611 with 73 kills (2.15 per set) while playing and starting in all 11 matches. She has also added 32 blocks, second most on the team and served five aces. She has hit over .500 in all but two matches this season with two double-digit kill efforts. She is 11th in the MIAA in blocks per set. 

>> Brynne Topolski is second on the Ichabods with 85 kills (2.36 per set) while hitting .305. She has come off the bench in all 11 matches while making 21 blocks with 14 digs. She has three matches with double-digit kills. 

>> Keilah Rivers has slashed 69 kills (2.16 per set) this season while starting in nine matches and playing in all 11. She has served a team-high 13 aces while logging 72 digs (2.25 per set) and making 14 blocks. She has two double-figure kill matches and one double-double. 

>> Sydney Conner has appeared at setter in nine matches for the Ichabods and is second on the team with 127 assists (5.08 per set). She has added 10 aces along with 44 digs (1.76 per set). The senior has registered one double-double on the year. Her assists per set rank 14th in the MIAA. 

>> Autumn Gibbs has played in all 11 matches while making four starts. The junior transfer is second on the team with 88 digs (2.44 per set) and has a .961 reception percentage. She has served 10 aces and dished 14 assists. She has three double-figure dig matches. 

>> Natalie Hedlund has played in nine matches making five starts to record 44 kills (1.69 per set) while hitting .186. She has made 18 total blocks including a team-high four solo stops. 

>> Shannon Frakes is third on the team with 76 assists (5.07 per set) while playing in nine matches off the bench. She has served seven aces and made 21 digs (1.40 per set) as well. 

>> Emery Keebaugh has made four starts while playing in eight matches to register 27 kills (1.69 per set) while slashing .270. She has scooped up nine digs with five blocks. 

>> Kali Henry has played in ten matches this season off the bench, serving two aces and recording five digs. 

Head Coach Chris Herron

>> Herron is in his 24th season at the helm of the Ichabod volleyball program with a career record of 632-140 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 104-33 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.

>> 3: Number of sets lost this season. 

>> 9: Number of sweeps this year. 

>> 11: Current winning streak this season.

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

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

>> 23: Consecutive winning seasons for Washburn all coming under Chris Herron. 

>> 147: Consecutive victories when winning the first two sets of a match. 

>> 635: Career victories for Herron at Washburn. 

Ranking Roundup

>> Washburn is 3rd in the nation and leads the MIAA with a .323 team hitting percentage. 

>> The Ichabods are 15th nationally and 2nd among MIAA teams with 2.53 blocks per set. 

>> On the defensive side Washburn is limiting opponents to a .110 hitting percentage, good for 12th nationally and 2nd in the MIAA. 

>> The Ichabods are dishing out 13.92 assists per set on offense, good for 4th in the nation and second in the MIAA. 

>> Washburn knocks down 14.75 kills per set to rank 4th in all of DII and second among MIAA programs. 

>> Serving up 2.06 aces per set, the Ichabods are second in the MIAA and 61st nationally. 

>> Washburn is one of 13 teams in the nation that remain undefeated. 

Milestone Markers

>> Corinna McMullen is 9th in program history in total assists with 2,363. She is tied for fifth in program history in service aces with 135. Her 919 career digs rank 30th in program history. 

>> Austin Broadie ranks in the top-40 in Ichabod history in both blocks and kills. Her 224 blocks are 33rd mos,t and with 785 kills she ranks 29th. She also sits 20th in career attack percentage at .260.

>> With 1,154 career digs Taylor Rottinghaus is climbing the all-time charts and currently ranks 23rd. In digs per set she is 4th in Washburn history at 4.73.  

>> Sydney Conner has 1,650 career assists, putting her 13th in Washburn history. In assists per set she ranks 14th among all Ichabods. 

>> In just 146 career sets with the Ichabods, Alex Dvorak is 38th in program history with 187 career blocks. 

>> Bella Limback's has 231 total blocks in her career putting her 31st on the all-time charts. She is 19th in blocks per set. 

Scouting the Opposition

About the Northwest Missouri State Bearcats

>> Northwest Missouri State fell to 6-3 on the year last time out losing 3-0 to Mayville on Sept. 19. 

>> The Bearcats are 1-1 in road matches, 5-2 in neutral court meetings and have not played inside of Bearcat Arena so far on the year. 

>> Amy Woerth is in her 14th season as the head coach at Northwest Missouri State where she has a 234-153 career record. 

>> Assistant coaches Nick Sepulveda, Connie LeBel and Riley Walters round out the coaching staff. 

>> The Bearcats are averaging 14.1 kills per set while hitting .240 as a team. They also log 12.3 assists, 16.1 digs and 1.2 blocks per set. They rank 16th in the nation in kills per set and 44th in hitting percentage. 

>> Kasidy Mohwinkle leads the team with 88 kills (3.14 per set) while also hitting .337, second best on the team. She has played in all nine matches, starting in six, she has made 44 digs (1.57 per set). She is 7th in the conference in kills per set. 

>> Ella Caffery controls the offense for Northwest Missouri with 311 assists (10.37 per set). She has started in all nine matches and has made 104 digs (3.47 per set) second most on the team, with 42 kills and nine aces. She ranks 3rd in the MIAA and 22nd nationally in assists per set.  

>> Karsen VanScoy leads the team scooping up 118 digs (3.93 per set) while playing in all nine matches. She has dished out 30 assists along with serving six aces. 

>> Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 51-26. They have gone 27-7 against Northwest Missouri at home. 

>> The series began on Nov. 1, 1976 with the last meeting coming on Nov. 21, 2024 in St. Joseph, Mo. at the MIAA Tournament with a 3-1 win for the Bearcats. 

About the MIssouri Western State Griffons

>> Missouri Western fell to 8-3 on the year after being swept 3-0 by Rockhurst last time out on Sept. 20. They will take on Emporia State on Friday before facing the Ichabods. 

>> The Griffons are 2-0 in road matches, 6-3 in neutral court battles and have not played inside of the MWSU Fieldhouse this season. 

>> Missouri Western is tied for No. 24 in the latest AVCA Rankings. 

>> Former Ichabod volleyball All-American, assistant coach and Washburn Hall of Famer Jessica Fey is in her 4th season as the head coach at Missouri Western where she has a 63-39 record. 

>> The coaching staff is rounded out by assistant coaches Kayla Ruff and Nessa Johnson. 

>> On the year the Griffons are hiutting .205 as a team with 13.6 kills per set. They also get 13.0 assists, 17.7 digs and 1.9 blocks per set. They are 17th in the nation in assists per set and 20th in digs per set. 

>> Taylor Russell leads the team with 119 kills (2.98 per set) while hitting .270. She has started in all 11 matches while making 24 blocks and 21 digs. She is 8th in the MIAA in total kills. 

>> Anna Weberg has scooped up 211 digs (5.15 per set) to lead the team while playing in all 11 matches. She has also served five aces and dished 42 assists. She is 2nd in the MIAA and 24th in the nation in digs per set. 

>> Hayley Barsky leads the team with 241 assists (5.88 per set) while starting in all 11 matches. She is third on the team with 87 digs (2.12 per set) and served five aces. 

>> Washburn leads the all-time series with Missouri Western 47-41. They are 28-10 in Topeka. 

>> The series began on Sept. 30, 1975 with a 2-0 win for the Ichabods. The last meeting came on Oct. 30, 2024 with a 3-0 win for Washburn. 

Take a Look Ahead

>> Washburn will go on the road the following week taking on Pittsburg State and Newman beginning with a Thursday evening contest against the Gorillas at 6 p.m. on Oct. 2. 

>> Senior night for the Ichabods comes against Arkansas-Fort Smith in the regular season finale on Saturday, Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. 

>> 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.