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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University will open its 136th season of football and second under coach Zach Watkins at 6 p.m. Saturday in Kirksville, Mo. against former MIAA foe Truman.

The Washburn Ichabods will open their 2026 football season Saturday night at Truman, looking to improve on last fall's 3-8 record. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

The Ichabods are coming off a 3-8 season in 2025 while the Bulldogs, who received votes in the preseason AFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, are coming off an 8-4 campaign, falling 57-14 to Indianapolis in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.

"It's been a really good fall camp I thought,'' Washburn sophomore quarterback Logan Madden said. "We're in a way different spot than we were last year, personnel-wise and just the way we're going about things. And I'm excited to play someone new because it's tough going against our defensive guys every day.

"We've got dudes everywhere so we just need to get them the ball and let them work.''

Watkins agreed with Madden that it's time to get the season started.

"Absolutely,'' Watkins said. "It's time to play somebody else and our guys are hungry and excited to go do that. We set very specific goals as a coaching staff for what we wanted to accomplish in camp and we did that.

"You're never fully ready for the entire season, but we're ready to start the season and ready to figure out who our best players are and our best schemes and kind of figure out what works and what doesn't, but our goals for training camp and our objectives that we talked to the team about, we've definitely achieved.''

The Ichabods and Bulldogs are meeting for only the second time since Truman's last season in the MIAA before joining the Great Lakes Valley Conference for the 2013 season. Washburn won last season's meeting in Topeka 20-17 in the Ichabods' season-opener.

Washburn trails the all-time series with Truman 18-13, but has won the last seven games. The Bulldogs' last win in the series came in a 21-7 win on Oct. 21, 2006 in Kirksville. Overall the Ichabods have won the last three played in Kirksville.

Washburn was tabbed No. 8 in both the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and Preseason Media Poll while the Bulldogs were selected second in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Preseason Coaches poll, receiving 58 points and two first-place votes. Indianapolis was chosen as the preseason favorite with 63 points and seven first-place votes.

The Ichabods are 82-47-6 in season-openers and 1-1 against Truman in season openers. Washburn and Truman also faced off in the season-opener on Sept. 19, 1958, with the Bulldogs winning 26-13 in Kirksville.

Washburn enters the season on a one-game winning streak, topping Missouri Southern 29-24 in the 2025 season finale.

The Ichabods were 2-4 in one-score games last season with the lone wins coming against Truman in the opener and over Missouri Southern in the finale.

Washburn junior lineback JC Heim, a former Washburn Rural star, led the MIAA and finished second in the nation in tackles with 142 (12.8 per contest).

Madden saw action in seven games with five starts last fall as a redshirt freshman, completing 117 of 202 passes for 1,163 yards and eight touchdowns, and won the Ichabods' starting quarterback job in fall camp.

Now the 6-2, 210-pounder is looking to take another big step forward this fall.

"You want to be pushed,'' Madden said. "It's easy to sit back and relax, but you're not going to get any better. And I knew after last season, obviously I did some good things but I needed to get a lot better.'' 

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Freshman libero/defensive specialist Avery Willey's Friday took a drastic turn the minute Washburn senior volleyball standout Taylor Rottinghaus grabbed her injured hamstring late in the Ichabods' first match of the day against Arkansas Tech and was sidelined for the remainder of the day.

Freshman Avery Willey celebrates a service ace with her Washburn teammates in Friday's Washburn Invitational win over William Jewell. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN] 

And suddenly, just two days into her college career, the Shawnee Heights product was faced with the task of replacing Washburn's most experienced player.

But Willey was up to the task, helping the No. 8 ranked Ichabods finish off a 3-0 sweep over Arkansas Tech and take a 3-1 win over William Jewell to improve to 3-0 in the season-opening Washburn Invitational in Lee Arena.   

"I was definitely nervous, but my teammates were there for me and told me they trusted me and believed in me, so I was just leaning on them the entire process and that helped me a lot,'' Willey said.

Willey was well aware of the magnitude of trying to fill in for Rottinghaus, also a former T-Bird.

"I was a freshman when she was a senior,'' Willey said. "She's an amazing leader. She's vocal and she told me before the game to be the loudest one out there and lead by example. She's definitely the biggest spark we have on our team as far as energy.''

Willey also wanted to make sure she didn't let Ichabod coach Chris Herron down.

"(Coach) always says he gives opportunities and once you're thrown in you have to make the most of it, so I knew at some point I would get an opportunity and just wanted to try to make the most of what I'm doing out there,'' she said.

Avery Willey makes a diving save in Friday's Washburn Invitational in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Suffice it to say Herron was pleased.

"Avery Willey was amazing, she was so good,'' Herron said. "We knew she was going to be our next libero when she committed to us. She had a whole bunch of opportunities to play other places, too, and we've been recruiting her since seventh grade and I'm being serious about that.

"I've wanted that kid forever. I just love her nose for the ball. She has no fear whatsoever and great ball control, so I'm just excited for her and happy for her. We have a lot of young kids that do some really good things.''

Rottinghaus' injury doesn't appear to be serious, meaning that the Ichabods could have both liberos available in the near future.

"That was scary,'' Herron said of Rottinghaus' injury. "She grabbed that hamstring and she's obviously got a little pull in it, so we're going to let her lay off of it and probably not even practice this entire week and see how it goes for next weekend and that kind of thing.'' 

Washburn opened its day with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-19 win over Arkansas Tech. 

Washburn took control early in the first set with consecutive kills from Emma Siron to go up 5-2.

Arkansas Tech (1-1) came back to tie the set twice and would eventually take a 15-13 lead on the strength of a 5-0 rally.

A kill by Brooklyn Morrisey started a four-point burst that put the Ichabods back in front and they were able to finish the set with three straight points to close out the four-point win. 

Both sides split the first 20 points of the second set before a three-point burst by Washburn put it front, 15-12.

Shannon Frakes' kill gave the Ichabods a 20-15 advantage, but the Golden Suns pulled back within two points before the Ichabods took the final three points of the set. 

Washburn's momentum carried over into the third set as Natalie Hedlund's kill started a 7-0 run to open the set.

The Ichabod lead grew to double-digits at 14-4 after a Morrisey kill but Arkansas Tech was able to pull as close as four points before Washburn put the match away on a kill by Kennedy Dirks for a second straight six-point win.  

The Ichabods tallied 50 kills while hitting .333 as a team and held the Golden Suns to a .171 hitting percentage on 35 kills. Washburn also led 49-39 in digs and held a 45-31 edge in assists.

Junior Emma Siron (8) had 17 kills in Washburn's 3-0 sweep over Arkansas Tech in Friday's Washburn Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]  

Siron had 17 kills while hitting .371 and scooping up eight digs. Brynne Topolski added 11 kills with three blocks while Frakes dished out 34 assists with 11 digs for a double-double and Morrisey added eight kills and hit .500. 

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

It wasn’t always pretty, but the No. 8 nationally-ranked Ichabods opened the Washburn Invitational volleyball tournament by handling Oklahoma Christian in four sets Thursday night.

Junior setter Shannon Frakes had 47 assists and 19 digs in Thursday's 3-1 Washburn win over Oklahoma Christian. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Junior Blues will play three more matches over the next two days, providing coach Chris Herron a lot of information to work with.

After dominating the opening set 25-13, Washburn stumbled in the second, giving up a 14-9 lead to eventually lose, 30-28. The Ichabods quickly regained their stride, winning the next two sets, 25-18 and 25-14.

An out-of-rotation foul disrupted the Ichabods’ momentum in the second set, opening the door for the Eagles to claim that win.

“That discombobulated us and we didn’t ever get it back,” Herron said. “But (Oklahoma Christian) is a good team. They went to the NCAA tournament last year, so you got to give them some credit. In this first match, you’re ironing out those kinds of things, hoping the next day is better. It will be.”

The match against Oklahoma Christian was the Ichabods’ first time out since they fell in the NCAA Central Regional last December. Expectations remain high. Washburn was tied atop the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll this fall as well as ranked eighth nationally to start the season. Herron said if the Ichabods are to reach those lofty heights, they must gather a lot of information from this season-opening tournament.

“You’ve got to get better in these kinds of settings,” said the 25-year head coach. “After it’s over, we will watch the film and break things down. We will try to play as many kids as we possibly can this weekend and see where we can get better.”

Washburn returns to the court Friday at 2 p.m. to take on Arkansas Tech. The Ichabods will face William Jewell at 7 p.m. on Friday before closing out the weekend with a 2 p.m. Saturday match against Westminster University.

Redshirt junior outside hitter Emma Siron (8) paced Washburn volleyball with 20 kills in Thursday's 3-1 win over Oklahoma Christian. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Junior outside hitter Brynne Topolski has a double-double with 18 kills and 21 digs in Washburn volleyball's 3-1 win over Oklahoma Christian. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Herron credited senior setter Shannon Frakes for getting the ball to the right hitters in the right positions in the opening match. He also singled out returning junior Brynne Topolski and transfer junior Emma Siron, who combined for 38 of the team’s 65 kills.

Topekan Chloe Carlgren, a senior middle blocker, puts away a shot in Thursday's Washburn volleyball win over Oklahoma Christian. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Senior middle blocker, Chloe Carlgren, a 2023 graduate of Washburn Rural, was happy to play a season-opener at home. The Ichabods have opened every season since 2021 on the road. She was also excited to play in Lee Arena after the team played all its matches in Whiting Fieldhouse in 2025 while renovations were completed in the Ichabods’ regular home.

“I think the vibes were different because it’s like a new gym, new feeling, and we had a big cheering section which made it really feel like home and like we had a lot of extra energy,” Carlgren said. “We were a little bit questionable about (playing in) Whiting at first, but I feel like we definitely grew into it. But being here, it’s definitely a bigger atmosphere feeling and we’re glad to be down here.”

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