By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Veteran Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron is extemely proud of what his Ichabods, inexperienced and unproven at the start of the 2022 season, have accomplished this fall.
But like most coaches, Herron is always looking for more, especially with the crucial month of November looming in just a few days.
Washburn celebrates a point during Wednesday night's 3-0 MIAA sweep over Pittsburg State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
After advancing to the NCAA Division II national championship match last season, Washburn had to replace a big, talented senior class from last year's team, but this year's Ichabods, ranked 14th in the nation, are well on their way to carving out their own niche, improving to 20-5 overall (12-5 MIAA) with a 25-18, 25-18, 25-15 MIAA sweep over Pittsburg State Wednesday night at Lee Arena.
"If you would have told me we'd be 20-5 with all this newness and youth, I would have said, 'No, there's no way,' '' Herron said. "But here's the problem with that -- every coach gets greedy so they're always saying, 'Wait a minute, why can't I win them all?'
"Every coach gets greedy, 'It's good but it's not good enough,' and I'm greedy. I want more.''
A well-balanced attack paired with a strong defensive effort led to Washburn's latest victory.
The Ichabods broke a 4-4 tie in the first sset with three-straight points and then built a 19-7 lead with a 11-1 scoring tear.
Washburn was at set point, 24-13, when Pittsburg State (14-12, 8-9 MIAA) spoiled it five times before Austin Broadie put the game away with a kill to give the Ichabods the 25-18 win.
The teams took turns scoring to start the second when Washburn created a little space with a 3-0 mini-run to go up, 10-6.
The Gorillas fought back and leveled the score at 10, 13, and 14 but could never claim a lead.
A kill from Halle Meister started an 8-2 run to push the WU lead to 22-16. Washburn won the final two points of the 25-18 set on a pair of Pittsburg State errors.
Similar to the second set, back-and-forth scoring began the third when the Ichabods put together a 7-1 run to go in front, 11-5.
Pittsburg State pulled within two, 11-9, with four unanswered points but would get no closer as Washburn continued its attack and won 10 of the next 11 points to leap ahead, 21-10.
During that run, there were six kills from four different Ichabods and a couple of service aces from Corinna McMullen. Holding a 23-15 lead, Washburn secured the sweep with a kill from Ella Waters and an ace by Cair Paravel product Taryn Pridgett, who had just entered the match.
Washburn finished the night hitting .229 and limited Pittsburg State to a .097 attacking percentage.
The Ichabods led in every stat category, including a dominate advantage in kills (49-27) and in blocks (12-6).
Eleven Ichabods attempted a kill and all recorded at least one kill while four players finished with double-figure digs.
Jalyn Stevenson led Washburn with nine kills and contributed 11 digs.
Washburn freshman Kealy Kiviniemi spikes the ball in Wednesday's MIAA sweep over Pittsburg State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Kassidy Pfeiffer and Kealy Kiviniemi both knocked down eight kills. Pfeiffer and Meister were both a part of five blocks defensively and Meister finished the evening hitting .600 with seven kills on 10 attempts and one error. Broadie also had seven kills and led the Ichabods with six total blocks.
Sophie McMullen scooped up a team-high 20 digs and hit .556 with five kills on nine swings and zero errors. Her sister, C. McMullen, notched her ninth double-double, finishing with 18 assists and 12 digs and had a team-high three aces. Splitting setter duties was Sydney Conner, who led the team with 19 assists and had seven digs and an ace.
Manhattan grad Meg Auten was a kill shy of a double-double for the Gorillas as she had a team-best nine kills to go with 10 digs.
Former Silver Lake standout Marissa Bates led Pittsburg State with 23 digs.
The Ichabods will play their final home match on Thursday against Missouri Southern and Washburn's four seniors will be recognized on the court 15 minutes before the 6 p.m. first serve.
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