By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn completed an undefeated home-opening weekend with a sweep of Newman on Friday night in Topeka.
Washburn volleyball improved to 11-3 on the season Friday night with a 3-0 MIAA sweep over Newman. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods (11-3 overall, 2-2 MIAA) will finish off their three-match homestand at 6 p.m. Tuesday against Emporia State.
All three sets Friday night went Washburn's way by double-digits, beginning with 25-12 in the first, followed by a 25-14 win in the second and a 25-10 victory to finish out the match.
The first four points of the match all went to the home squad, with two each coming from Jalyn Stevenson and Brynne Topolski.
The lead grew to double figures as part of a 5-0 run that was finished off by a kill from Austin Broadie off a pass from Sydney Conner. The Ichabods were able to trade points the rest of the way for an 11-point win in the first set.
After the Jets (3-14, 0-3 MIAA) won the opening point of the second set, the next four went to Washburn, starting with a block from Topolski and Alex Dvorak.
A 6-0 run beginning with a kill by Belle Limback made it an 11-4 score.
The Ichabods hit .417 as a team in the set, putting it out of reach with seven straight points after an ace by Taryn Marcum. Newman won three in a row before Washburn finished out the 25-14 victory.
In the third set the Jets trailed by just one point at 6-5 early on before the Ichabods went off on an 11-0 run, which included three aces by Shannon Frakes.
The Washburn defense tightened as the match went on, holding Newman to a -.037 hitting percentage as a team in the third set.
Kills by Heather Schemper and Abby Leaf finished off the sweep.
The Ichabods hit .337 as a team, their second highest mark of the season, with 43 kills and just 10 errors.
On the other end, the Jets were held to a .043 hitting percentage, a season-low for Washburn opponents, and had 22 kills with 18 errors. The home squad led in assists 40-21 and digs, 49-35. They also served eight aces in the match while not relinquishing any.
Fifteen players got in the kill column for Washburn, led by Topolski with seven. Limback went 6 of 6 on her attacks for six kills.
Taylor Rottinghaus led WU with 15 digs and Corinna McMullen passed out 16 assists.
Ozioma Ajekwu had 10 kills to lead Newman while Natalie Trigo hauled in 13 digs for the Jets.
