By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Chris Herron's Washburn University volleyball team is off to an outstanding start to the 2025 season, winning 11 straight matches while dropping just three sets en route to earning a No. 7 national ranking from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
But Herron says the task for the Ichabods only gets tougher from here, with Washburn opening MIAA play with Friday and Saturday 6 p.m. home matches against Northwest Missouri State and No. 24 Missouri Western in Whiting Fieldhouse.
"There's 12 teams in this conference and 11 of them have winning records,'' Herron said. "Yikes! I'm looking forward to it though. It's fun.
"It makes you not sleep at night a little bit, but other than that, I'm excited about it.''
Washburn volleyball newcomer Autumn Gibbs (1) celebrates a point with her teammates during the recent Washburn Invitational. [File photo/TSN]
Junior defensive specialist/libero Autumn Gibbs, who transferred to WU after two seasons at Metropolitan State-Denver, said she feels like the closeknit Ichabods are up to the challenge moving forward.
"There's always room to grow,'' Gibbs said. "It's early in the season, but I think we've really done a great job and I think the reason we're so able to flow on the court is because we're able to flow off the court.
"We're a really close group and we love spending time together, so when it gets harder and the game's not going exactly our way, it's easy to rely on our teammates and I think that's going to be really powerful over the stretch of the season.''
While thrilled to be undefeated three weeks into the season, Herron knows there's still plenty of things for his team to work on.
"Our setting consistency was poor last weekend and we're still missing too many serves,'' Herron said. "And then always, always, always you want to be a better serve receive team so your offense can flow and all that stuff, but I think every coach in the United States is going to say that to you that knows about volleyball. You've got to serve it and you've got to pass it better every single time.
"But I think so far offensively we've been good, our blocking has been really solid. And when we have (Gibbs) and Taylor (Rottinghaus) in the game at the same time in the back row, balls don't find the floor very easily. They're really good defensively.''
Alex Dvorak leads the team with 37 blocks on the season while starting all 11 matches. Offensively she has made 71 kills along with hitting .473, second best on the team. She has recorded five or more blocks in four matches. The senior ranks fourth in the nation and first in the MIAA in hitting percentage among qualified hitters. She is also fifth in the MIAA in blocks per set.
Corinna McMullen has started all 11 matches this season to lead Washburn with 227 assists. She has also chipped in 10 service aces while ranking third on the team with 81 digs. The senior has delivered five matches of 20-plus assists and four double-doubles.
Rottinghaus, a junior libero, leads the Ichabods with 141 digs. She has chipped in 40 assists while serving nine aces. as well. Rottinghaus has a season-high of 28 digs this season, coming against Ouachita Baptist.
Gibbs has played in all 11 matches while making four starts. She is second on the team with 88 digs and has a .961 reception percentage. She has served 10 aces and dished 14 assists. She has three double-figure dig matches.
Bella Limback is slashing a team-high .611 with 73 kills while starting 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.
Brynne Topolski is second on the Ichabods with 85 kills 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.
Northwest Missouri State fell to 6-3 on the year last time out, losing 3-0 to Mayville.
Kasidy Mohwinkle leads the Bearcats with 88 kills while also hitting .337, second best on the team. She has played in all nine matches, starting in six, and has registered 44 digs. She is seventh in the conference in kills per set.
Ella Caffery controls the offense for Northwest Missouri with 311 assists. She has started in all nine matches and has made 104 digs with 42 kills and nine aces. She ranks third in the MIAA and 22nd nationally in assists per set.
Washburn leads the all-time series between the two teams 51-26. The Ichabods have gone 27-7 against Northwest Missouri at home.
Missouri Western fell to 8-3 on the year after being swept 3-0 by Rockhurst last time. The Griffons will take on Emporia State on Friday before facing the Ichabods.
Former Ichabod volleyball All-American, assistant coach and Washburn Hall of Famer Jessica Fey is in her fourth season as the head coach at Missouri Western where she has a 63-39 record.
Former Washburn Rural standout Taylor Russell leads the team with 119 kills while hitting .270. She has started in all 11 matches while making 24 blocks and 21 digs. She is eighth in the MIAA in total kills.
Anna Weberg has registered 211 digs to lead the team while playing in all 11 matches. She has also served five aces and dished 42 assists. She is second in the MIAA and 24th in the nation in digs per set.
Hayley Barsky leads the team with 241 assists and is third on the team with 87 digs and served five aces.
Washburn leads the all-time series with Missouri Western 47-41. The Ichabods are 28-10 in Topeka.
Washburn will go on the road next week, taking on Pittsburg State and Newman beginning with a Thursday evening contest against the Gorillas at 6 p.m.
