TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 8 Washburn volleyball opened the 2026 season up inside Lee Arena with a 3-1 win over Oklahoma Christian that also served as the opener of the Washburn Invitational Tournament on Thursday night. The Ichabods will play two matches on Friday facing Arkansas Tech at 2 p.m. and William Jewell at 7 p.m.
After splitting the first two sets of the match Washburn (1-0) won a pair of decisive sets, 25-18 and 25-14 to secure the first victory of the season.
In the opening set the Eagles (0-1) jumped out to a 4-2 lead before the Ichabods reeled off six straight points starting with a kill by Brooklyn Morrissey and ending with a block by Morrissey and Brynne Topolski. Oklahoma Christian came back to tie the set at nine but were not able to re-take the lead. A string of eight straight points for Washburn put them in front 21-12 and carried them to a 25-13 first-set victory.
To begin the second set the Ichabods got out to an 11-6 lead after back-to-back kills from Emma Siron. The Eagles began to claw back, pulling within one point at 16-15 before coming all the way back to tie the set at 21. Washburn was the first to reach set point, and had four opportunities to serve for the set victory but were unable to close it out. Oklahoma Christian closed the set out with three straight points to even the match at one set each.
An 8-1 run early in the third set put the Ichabods up 10-3 and set the tone early. A run of four points in a row was capped off with an ace from Taylor Rottinghaus that pushed the lead to double figures at 19-9. Another ace, this time from Shannon Frakes, closed out the set with an ace as the Washburn offense hit at a .345 clip.
They carried the momentum into a 4-1 start in the fourth set. A 5-0 run with three kills in the stretch from Siron that put the Ichabods up 14-8. The run created some breathing room for Washburn as they finished out the set and match with six points in a row after Frakes and Morrissey combined to stuff the final attack from Oklahoma Christian.
The Ichabod offense hit .256 and slashed 65 kills while holding the Eagles to .110 hitting and 39 kills. They also led in assists 62-39 and 88-67 in digs.
Emma Siron led the way on offense with 20 kills while hitting .277 and adding eight digs. Shannon Frakes controlled the offense with a career-high 47 assists and 19 digs. Brynne Topolski also had a double-double with 18 kills and 21 digs. Natalie Hedlund added 11 kills while Taylor Rottinghaus scooped up a team-high 26 digs.
Jenna McClure led the Eagles with 13 kills and added 13 digs as well.
