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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Washburn University had four players earn All-MIAA volleyball honors on Wednesday afternoon, led by first-team picks Halle Meister and Jalyn Stevenson.
Kealy Kiviniemi earned second-team recognition while Corinna McMullenn received honorable mention.
Senior middle blocker Meister has turned in a career year en route to her first all-conference award.
In her 27 starts and 103 sets played, Meister has totaled 237 kills and currently leads the MIAA with a .363 attacking percentage. She has hit above .400 in 13 matches and has hit above .500 in nine of those.
Defensively, Meister leads Washburn with 82 total blocks and has made 11 solo blocks.
Stevenson, a sophomore outside hitter, earns her second-consecutive All-MIAA award after receiving honorable mention as a freshman.
This season Stevenson leads the Ichabods with 320 kills (sixth in the MIAA) for a 3.11 kills per set average (seventh in the MIAA). She has recorded 16 double-figure kill matches and knocked down a career-best 24 kills against No. 24 Central Missouri on Nov. 4.
Behind the service line, Stevenson is second on the team in aces with 34. She has notched 11 double-doubles this fall as she's also helped the team defensively and is third on the squad in digs, totaling 315 for a 3.06 digs per set average.
There have now been 25 different Washburn volleyball players to earn All-MIAA first team honors for a total of 44 first-team awards since Chris Herron took over the program in 2002.
After seeing limited action in the two non-conference tournaments to start the year, freshman right side hitter Kiviniemi has made the most of her time since conference play began.
Kiviniemi has appeared in all 28 matches with 14 starts, playing in 92 of the 106 sets and is up to 207 kills, ranking third on the team.
Kiviniemi holds a .276 attacking percentage and has also made 52 blocks at the net. In the five-set victory at Pittsburg State on Oct. 1, she was crucial in helping the Ichabods win as she led the team with 20 kills and hit .500 for the match. She has recorded six or more kills in 15 of the last 16 matches with five matches with double-digit kill totals.
McMullen, also a true freshman, has handled the majority of the setting duties for the Ichabods and averages 6.52 assists per set and totaled 691 assists on the year.
McMullen has started 27 of the 28 matches and is the only Ichabod to have played in every set. McMullen has had 15 matches with 25+ assists including six matches with over 30 assists.
She has served up 27 aces and leads the team with 12 double-doubles as she also averages 2.33 digs per set. In the four-set win over Missouri Western on Oct. 7, she recorded a season-high 39 assists and scooped up 17 digs.
Washburn will play next in the MIAA Tournament as the No. 5 seed, taking on No. 4 seed Central Oklahoma in the quarterfinal match at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Mo.
Former Silver Lake star Marissa Bates, a libero/defensive specialist for Pittsburg State earned second-team All-MIAA honors.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Editor's note: The college fall letter of intent signing period gets under way this week and TopSports.news will post signing updates as they are received. Email any signing information and signing day pictures to Rick Peterson at
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Shawnee Heights senior volleyball standouts Emily Loy and Taylor Rottinghaus are scheduled to sign college letters of intent at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday in the Heights cafeteria.
Rottinghaus will sign with Washburn University while Loy is also headed to the MIAA, signing with Missouri Western.
Loy was an All-Shawnee County first-team pick as a junior and received All-United Kansas Conference second-team honors this past season.
Loy registered 285 kills and 35 total blocks as a senior while also contributing 225 digs, 31 assists and 19 aces on 97.1-percent serve efficiency.
Rottinghaus was named to the All-UKC first team and was named the conference defensive player of the year as a senior.
Rottinghaus recorded 376 digs and 75 assists while registering 22 service aces on 94.5-percent serve efficiency.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
OK, so taking a full season off from your primary sport to try something completely new might not always be the way to go.
But that unlikely path has paid big dividends for both Hayden junior football standout Finn Dunshee and the 9-1 Wildcats this fall.
After playing football and running track at Hayden as a freshman, Dunshee spent his sophomore school year at St. Martin's Academy in Fort Scott.
"My uncle (Daniel Kerr) has this really cool boarding school and I went down there and visited and I just really liked the experience of the brotherhood that they had down there,'' Dunshee said. "And my mom wanted me to give it a try so I decided midway through my freshman year, I think after semester, that I was going to go down there the next year.''
While at St. Martin's, Dunshee discovered the sport of rugby.
"They just have rugby and every boy played it,'' Dunshee said. "It's a small school, like 60 kids. I had never played and it was such a fun experience and we were a pretty good team. We took second in the state last year and I played a pretty big role on that team. It was just a great experience.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights senior forward Jordan Garvin has been named the United Kansas Conference boys soccer player of the year after leading the T-Birds to the league title in 2022.
Garvin was one of four Heights players to be named to the All-UKC first-team, with senior defender Jose Guajardo-Arizpe and seniors midfielders Jesus Cardona and Isaac Wilson also earning first-team honors.
Shawnee Heights' Nic Simons was named the UKC coach of the year.
Eight Topeka city players earned second-team All-UKC laurels -- seniors Joseph Budge and Ayden Thompson of Seaman, senior Zachary Memmer and juniors Jack Martin and Jack Phillips of Shawnee Heights and senior Lenny Njoroge and juniors Isaac Gonzalez-Talavera and Jaden Patterson of Topeka West.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE SOCCER
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural, which won its eighth Class 6A state championship and its first in 10 seasons, put four players on the TopSports.news All-Shawnee County volleyball team, led by two-time player of the year Brooklyn DeLeye.
DeLeye, a senior, is joined on the all-county first team by senior Taylor Russell and juniors Zoe Canfield and Jada Ingram while veteran Junior Blues coach Kevin Bordewick, who went over the 1,000-win mark for his career in 2022, was named the coach of the year after Rural went 45-1 on the season with 44 straight wins to end the year.
State placers Rural and Seaman, fourth in 5A, combined to earn seven of 13 first-team berths.
The Vikings, who posted a 32-11 record and won the United Kansas Conference title, are represented on the first team by senior Laynee Brown, junior Brooklyn Gormley and sophomore Maegan Mills.
Mid-East League champion Rossville put senior Brinley Dyche and junior Kinsey Perine on the all-county team while Shawnee Heights is represented by seniors Emily Loy and Taylor Rottinghaus, Silver Lake by senior Taylor Ross and Topeka West by senior Makinsey Jones.
Brown, DeLeye, Ingram, Jones, Loy, Perine and Russell are all repeat first-team selections while Canfield, Dyche, Gormley and Mills were second-team picks a year ago and Ross and Rottinghauls received honorable mention.
Hayden freshman Reese Huscher was named the county newcomer of the year after compiling 148 kills, 254 digs and serving at 97 percent.
All-Shawnee County first team capsules: