By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
ST. CLOUD, Minn. -- Washburn University volleyball will continue to dance in the NCAA Tournament after knocking off No. 5 nationally ranked Nebraska-Kearney in five sets on Thursday in a Central Region quarterfinal.
No. 6 seed Washburn volleyball celebrates its final point in Thursday's five-set NCAA tournament win over No. 3 Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn's bench takes the court to celebrate Thursday's win over Nebraska-Kearney with its teammates. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will face either Central Oklahoma or Southwest Minnesota State at 4 p.m. on Friday in the Central Region semifinals.
Thursday's win was WU's first of the season over Nebraska-Kearney after two regular-season losses to the Lopers, with the Ichabods taking a 20-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-18, 15-13 decision.
"It was fun, wasn't it,'' veteran Washburn coach Chris Herron said in the post-match press conference. "I'm sure it was fun if you were sitting in the stands, but I'm up here shaking.
"We played them that way last time, too. Last time we lost in five, 15-12, so I'm very excited for my team.''
The first set went in the 30-3 Lopers' favor, 25-20, before 21-7 Washburn flipped the score in the second to even the match.
Nebraska Kearney went back up, winning 25-21 in the third set, but the Ichabods forced a fifth set with a 25-18 win in the fourth.
After trailing 7-1 to begin the final set Washburn rallied to win 15-13 and knock off UNK.
The Lopers jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead in the first set and held control. The Ichabods stayed within two points at 14-12 after Belle Limback found the hardwood for a kill but the next five points all went to Nebraska-Kearney.
Washburn strung together four straight points, finished off with a block by Alex Dvorak and Taryn Pridgett to make it 22-19 but that was as close as the Ichabods would get the rest of the way as the Lopers held on, 25-20.
Both teams traded the first eight points of the second set.
Nebraska-Kearney went up by two points with a 3-0 run to create some separation. That was the deficit when the Ichabods reeled off five points in a row, ending with a kill by Emery Keebaugh to go up, 15-12.
The Lopers got back within two points and stayed there until Cair Paravel product Pridgett started a 3-0 run to put Washburn in front 23-18. Back-to-back kills by Austin Broadie put the finishing touches on the set as the Ichabods flipped the score for a 25-20 win. They held UNK to just .116 hitting in the set.
Washburn carried the momentum into the start of the third set as they led 10-7 after a Jalyn Stevenson kill.
Nebraska-Kearney would score four of the next five points to tie the set up at 11.
The Ichabods were back in front 16-15 before the Loper offense heated up for four straight points.
Washburn pulled back within one point at 22-21 after a kill by Stevenson, but the Nebraska-Kearney offense, which hit .250 in the set, stayed hot through the end of the frame to win 25-21.
After UNK led 3-1 to start the fourth set, the next four points went to the Ichabods, starting with a kill from Broadie on a dish by Corinna McMullen.
Washburn grew the lead to a match-high six points after McMullen was able to land an ace to go up 14-8.
The Lopers would chip away at the lead and get it down to three on multiple occasions, but the Ichabods continued to have a response.
Down the stretch the Washburn offense took over, starting with a kill by Dvorak to end the set on a 5-1 run and win it 25-18. The red-hot offense hit .317 in the set, highest by either team in any set in the match.
The first point in the fifth set went to the Ichabods but the next seven would all go to Nebraska-Kearney.
Washburn settled back in with a five-point run of its own, with two kills by Dvorak and a pair of aces by Stevenson boosting the Ichabods.
The comeback was fully complete as Seaman grad Maddie Steiner tied the set at 10 with an ace.
The Lopers led the trading of points and were up 13-12 before Washburn rallied to take each of the final three points, ending the match on a kill by Broadie to stamp the fifth set with a 15-13 final score.
"When you're down 7-1 your team can fold,'' Herron said. "You can be like, 'OK, we're going to go belly up,' and we didn't.
"They didn't hyperventilate, they didn't freak out. They just stayed calm.''
Washburn volleyball coach Chris Herron celebrates with his Ichabods after Thursday's five-set NCAA tournament victory over Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods hit .231 as a team with 65 kills to tally their first NCAA Tournament win since defeating Western Washington in the national semifinals on Dec. 10, 2021.
Defensively, they held Nebraska-Kearney to .169 hitting with 60 kills and 28 errors.
Narrow advantages across the board for Washburn were the difference in the tight match as the Ichabods outpaced the Lopers in blocks, 14-11, assists, 64-60, and digs, 86-81.
Broadie led the Ichabods with 15 kills while hitting .371. Keebaugh came off the bench to slash .360 and add 14 kills while Dvorak had 10 kills and a career-high 11 blocks.
On the back row, Shawnee Heights grad Taylor Rottinghaus had 31 digs to lead all players and McMullen had a 33-assist and 10-dig double-double. Sydney Conner added 21 assists and seven digs.
Nebraska-Kearney had three players finish with double-digit kills, led by Asha Regier with 20 and Emilee Lane with 14. Peyton Neff had 50 assists and 12 digs for a double-double.
