By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University volleyball will play the middle leg of its three-week road trip this weekend as the Ichabods face Missouri Southern at 6 p.m. on Friday and Central Missouri at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Washburn volleyball, 13-4 on the season, will remain on the road this weekend, playing at Missouri Southern and Central Missouri. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods are 13-4 on the year overall and 4-3 in the MIAA.
Washburn went 1-1 last weekend with a sweep over Fort Hays State on Friday before falling 3-0 to No. 3-ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday.
Senior Jalyn Stevenson is the team leader with 189 kills (3.00 per set) while hititng .225 across her 17 starts. She is also second on the squad in digs with 189 and in aces with 21.
Stevenson is 11th in the MIAA in kills and 18th 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.
Junior Alex Dvorak leads the Washburn defense at the net with 80 blocks on the year. She sits fourth on the team in kills with 125 and is second with a .376 hitting percentage. The junior is 26th in the nation and second in the MIAA in blocks per set while ranking 28th nationally in hitting percentage and third in the conference. She has hit over .300 in 13 of 17 matches.
Sophomore Taylor Rottinghaus, a Shawnee Heights product, has a team-high 299 digs (4.75 per set) across 17 matches. She has chipped in 65 assists and served 13 aces.
She is 52nd in the nation and seventh in the MIAA in digs per set while ranking eighth among conference players in total digs. She has at least 10 digs in every match.
Corinna McMullen paces Washburn with 385 assists (6.21 per set) through 17 matches with 15 starts. She is also third on the team with 138 digs while serving a team-high 24 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.
Bella Limback leads the Ichabod hitters with a .417 attacking percentage while starting all 17 matches. She has tallied 126 kills and is second on the team with 59 blocks. The junior's hitting percentage is 11th highest in the nation and first in the MIAA.
She is also ninth in total blocks in the conference and 12 in blocks per set. She has hit over .400 in nine matches on the year including hitting .733 with a team-high 12 kills against Fort Hays State on Friday.
Missouri Southern will enter Friday's match against the Ichabods with a 3-15 record overall and a 1-6 mark in the MIAA after falling 3-1 to Pittsburg State in Pittsburg last Saturday.
Kyla Randall leads the defensive charge with 401 digs across 18 matches. She has added 42 assists with 14 aces. She is second in the nation in total digs and fifth in digs per set while ranking first in the conference in both categories.
Amelia Neels leads the Lions on offense with 166 kills while starting all 18 matches. She is also the team-leader with a .307 attack percentage and with 54 total blocks.
Washburn leads the all-time series with Missouri Southern, 44-28. The Ichabods are 20-9 against the Lions in Joplin.
Last season Washburn won both matches in the season series 3-1.
Central Missouri enters the weekend with a 7-9 record overall while going 3-4 in the MIAA.
Kayla Baer has played in just 11 matches this season with 10 starts but leads the team with 478 assists. She has added 80 digs with 19 total blocks and 14 kills. She is second in the conference in assists per set.
Elinor Engel has 210 kills to lead Central Missouri on offense. She has started all 16 matches and carries a .213 hitting percentage while sitting at second on the team with 49 blocks.
Central Missouri leads the all-time series 51-23 over Washburn. They are 22-9 in Warrensburg.
The Jennies took both matches against WU a season ago with 3-0 sweeps.
Washburn will have a whole week off before getting back on the court Oct. 26 against Emporia State on the road.
