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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University volleyball will begin a run of five straight road matches with MIAA contests against Fort Hays State on Friday at 6 p.m. and against No. 3-ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Washburn junior Corinna McMullen (12) celebrates a service ace with her teammates during Tuesday's 3-2 MIAA win over Emporia State at Lea Arena. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods are 12-3 on the year overall and 3-2 in the MIAA after finishing off a homestand with a 3-2 MIAA win over Emporia State on Tuesday night.
Senior Jalyn Stevenson is Washburn's team leader with 173 kills (3.04 per set) while hititng .241 across her 15 starts. She is also second on the squad in digs with 169 and in aces with 13.
Stevenson is ninth in the MIAA in kills and 16th in kills per set while ranking 19th in total digs. The senior has six double-doubles on the year and 10 matches with 10-plus kills. She ranks 20th in program history with 1,164 career kills. She will move into 19th with five more kills. She is also 14th on the program charts in aces and 22nd in digs. She needs 47 digs to reach the top 20 in that category.
Alex Dvorak is third on the team with 117 kills while hitting .384, the second highest mark on the team. She has started all 15 matches and leads the team with 74 total blocks. The junior is 31st in the nation and third in the MIAA in hitting percentage and she is 20th in the nation and second among MIAA players in blocks per set. She has hit over .300 in 12 of 15 matches.
Shawnee Heights product Taylor Rottinghaus has a team-high 266 digs across 15 matches. She has chipped in 60 assists and served 11 aces. The sophomore is eighth in the MIAA in digs per set while ranking seventh among conference players in total digs.
Corinna McMullen paces Washburn with 340 assists through 15 matches and is third on the team with 130 digs while serving a team-high 23 aces. The junior is 10th in the MIAA in assists per set, ninth in total assists and fourth in aces. She has five double-doubles on the year and three matches with at least 30 assists.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod women's soccer team return to Yager Stadium this weekend to welcome Missouri Southern Lions and Pittsburg State Gorillas for MIAA conference play.
Junior Belle Kennedy (12) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in last Friday's 3-0 MIAA Washburn win over previously-unbeaten Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn sophomore goalkeeper Hailey Beck ranks among the national leaders with six shutouts this fall. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods, ranked No. 22 in the latest USC National poll, will face the Lions at 6 p.m. on Friday before battling Pittsburg State for the first time in the Gorillas' history on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Washburn is 5-2-2 so far in the 2024 season and has shut out its last seven opponents with five straight victories. The Ichabods are currently tied for third place in the MIAA with a 2-0-1 record.
Washburn played only one game last week, a 3-0 road win over previously-unbeaten Nebraska-Kearney, which entered the match 4-0-4.
The Ichabods scored the only goal they would need on a shot from former Washburn Rural star Belle Kennedy early in the second half against the Lopers and Khloe Schuckman and Jadyn Allen also added goals in the victory.
Schuckman's goal was her second of the season and the 27th of her career.
Sophomore goalkeeper Hailey Beck, a Washburn Rural product, is tied for fourth nationally with six shutouts posted in goal. Beck is also 24th in goals against average with a 0.455 mark.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural seniors Emerie Catlin and Izzy Haggard followed up their city and Centennial League doubles championships with a Class 6A regional title Thursday at Wichita's Riverside Tennis Complex, leading the Junior Blues to the team crown.
Washburn Rural's girls tennis team receives its Class 6A regional championship trophy Thursday in Wichita. [Washburn Athletics]
Washburn Rural seniors Emerie Catlin (left) and Izzy Haggard completed a sweep of city, Centennial League and Class 6A regional doubles titles on Thursday in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Catlin and Haggard, who will take a 21-4 record into next weekend's 6A state tournament, capped their regional title run with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Wichita Southeast seniors Mallory Martinez and Lauren Ounaphom in the championship match.
Washburn Rural senior Carolina Chedzoy qualified for her second straight Class 6A state tournament with a runnerup regional finish Thursday at Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural's Julia Katzer earned a berth in the Class 6A state tennis tournament with a fifth-place regional singles finish Thursday in Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Michelle Rose's Junior Blues also qualified both of its singles players for state, with senior Carolina Chedzoy posting a second-place finish and Julia Katzer finishing fifth.
Chedzoy dropped a 6-3, 6-2 decision to Junction City sophomore Hannah Micheel in the singles final while Katzer posted a 6-2, 6-2 win over Wichita North's Lena Nguyen in the fifth-place match.
Topeka High junior Madeline Deters earned the second Class 6A state berth of her career with a third-place regional singles finish Thursday at Wichita. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka High's Hailey Caryl (left) and Ava Ritter qualified for the Class 6A state tournament with a fifth-place regional finish Thursday at Wichita. [Submitted photo]
Topeka High qualified three players for state, with junior Madeline Deters finishing third at regionals in singles and the doubles team of junior Ava Ritter and freshman Hailey Caryl taking fifth in doubles.
Deters posted a 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 win over Manhattan junior Keylee Schartz in the third-place singles match while Ritter and Caryl took a 6-4, 6-2 win over Manhattan's Kennedy McCarty and Lia Nickerson in the fifth-place doubles match.
Manhattan won the team title by a 17-13 win over Junction City while Manhattan was third with 10 points and Topeka High fourth with eight points as Centennial League schools swept the top four spots.
The 6A state tournament will be contested at Prairie Village's Harmon Park Tennis Complex on Oct. 18-19.
The remaining Shawnee County teams will compete for state berths in regional competition Friday and Saturday.
Shawnee Heights and Topeka West will compete in a 5A regional on Friday at Harmon Park while Seaman and Highland Park will compete in a 5A regional on Saturday at Bonner Springs.
Hayden compete in a 4A regional on Saturday at Kossover Tennis Center while Cair Paravel Latin and Rossville will participate in a 3A-1A regional Friday and Saturday at Marysville.
CLASS 6A REGIONAL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West freshman soccer standout Valentin Del Real and Washburn Rural junior volleyball player Stella Kelly have been selected by the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency as the Rising Stars of the Week.
The Dan Key Agency will recognize top Shawnee County underclassmen throughout the bulk of the 2024-2025 school year.
Here’s a brief look at the accomplishments of Del Real and Kelly over the past week:
Topeka West freshman Valentin Del Real (3) is the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency male Rising Star of the Week after helping the Charger soccer team get off to a 7-2 start this fall. [File photo/TSN]
VALENTIN DEL REAL, Topeka West
Del Real has made an immediate impact for the Topeka West boys soccer team as a freshman midfielder.
Del Real helped the Chargers get off to a 7-2 start to the 2024 season, including a 2-1 non-league win over city and USD 501 rival Topeka High last Thursday.
The Topeka West standout contributed a goal and an assist in the Chargers' victory over the Trojans at Hummer Sports Park.
Washburn Rural junior setter Stella Kelly has been named the Dan Key Farmers Insurance Agency female Rising Star of the Week after helping Rural win its fourth straight Centennial League title. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
STELLA KELLY, Washburn Rural
Kelly, a 5-foot-10 junior setter, helped lead Washburn Rural's volleyball team to a perfect 5-0 record and its fourth straight Centennial League championship last Saturday at Topeka High.
Kelly contributed 140 assists on the day as the Junior Blues won 10 of 11 sets in the league tournament.
The Rural standout helped Washburn Rural improve to 18-2 on the 2024 season.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University women's basketball team took a step forward in Year 2 of the Lora Westling era, posting a two-win jump while also improving its MIAA record and advancing to the conference postseason tournament.
Now the goal is to continue that uphill trend over the 2024-2025 campaign while eyeing a more dramatic jump.
Washburn junior Yibari Nwidadah earned All-MIAA honorable mention last season after averaging 12.4 points and 9.1 rebounds. {File photo/TSN]
Junior Gabi Giovannetti has averaged 7.1 points with 65 made 3-pointers over two seasons at Washburn. [File photo/TSN]
"That's the thing, we want to take another step forward as a program,'' said Westling, whose Ichabods were 13-16 a year ago. "We feel really excited about the direction we're going.
"I think a direct indicator of that is just the level of student-athlete that we're able to recruit. That's taking a step forward, so obviously we're really excited about the future. But for this year particularly, I think we're kind of for the first time able to be in control of what we're going to do. We have enough talent.''
Washburn will have to replace graduated star point guard Aubree Dewey, an All-MIAA honoree, but Westling is confident that the Ichabods are up to that challenge.
"I don't think you replace a player like Aubree but what we've done is we've been really fortunate to add more pieces so we can kind of play a different style,'' Westling said. "And I think because (Dewey) was a focal point we didn't have a ton of depth the last few years and I feel like now we have enough experience in some different positions and we're really excited about our new players and how our freshmen and sophomores have developed that now we can use that depth and kind of get into a style that's a little more sustainable for our program.''
Washburn does not have a senior on its 15-player roster but the Ichabods return eight players who saw action a year ago and have added seven newcomers -- five freshmen and a pair of transfers.
