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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University volleyball stayed unbeaten at home, extended its winning streak to four matches and equaled its win total from 2024 with an MIAA sweep over Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday evening in Lee Arena.
Washburn improved to 17-4 on the season with a 3-0 home MIAA sweep over Northwest Missouri Tuesday night. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods will play a second mid-week match at 6 p.m. Wednesday against No. 23-ranked Missouri Western.
After trailing early in the first set Washburn (17-4 overall, 8-3 MIAA) was able to work a 25-17 victory before rolling in the next two sets, 25-14 and 25-17.
A 3-0 run for the Bearcats (12-9, 6-5) put them up 8-4 in the first set and forced a timeout by the Ichabods.
Out of the break they began to chip away at the lead and were able to tie the set at 13 after a kill by Cair Paravel Latin product Taryn Pridgett. With the score 17-16 Washburn, a kill by Austin Broadie sparked a 4-0 run that would turn into a larger 8-1 burst to finish out the set 25-17 on a kill by Alex Dvorak.
In the second set it was the Ichabods jumping out ahead, scoring the first five points capped with a service ace by Corinna McMullen.
The run continued for Washburn, growing the lead to double digits at 13-3 after the first of back-to-back aces for Shawnee Heights graduate Taylor Rottinghaus.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Sophomore Mason Haas blasted a wind-aided free kick into the net Tuesday night to propel Shawnee Heights to the second round of the Class 5A soccer playoffs. The T-Birds overcame Kansas City-Schlagle 2-1 in an extra period of play at Bettis Family Sports Complex.
Shawnee Heights sophomore Mason Haas (9) scored the game-winning goal in the T-Birds' 2-1 overtime win over KC-Schlagle Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
By good fortune of the coin flip, Shawnee Heights had the wind at their backs in the extra period. Haas’ kick sailed over the Stallions’ defensive alignment and beyond the reach of the leaping goalkeeper. The stunned expressions on the faces of the T-Birds revealed how frustrated they had been by their inability to score.
“I knew if I put it back post, the goalie would have trouble dealing with it,” Haas said. “Even I was kind of surprised when it went in. I had the wind at my back and that put more pace on the ball.”
Sophomore Brayan Diaz gave the T-Birds an early tally despite playing into the wind in the first half. But the Stallions evened the score at the 16:00 mark of the first half. After flipping ends at the half, the T-Birds were stymied. It took Haas’ overtime blast to break the deadlock.
“I would call it an evening of obstacles more than frustration,” Haas said. “Things didn’t go our way, but we found a way to win. And that’s what a good team does.”
While pleased with the final result, T-Bird coach Nic Simons wasn’t too charitable about his team’s work.
“Last week we clinched a league title, and we had a game plan, but tonight we completely abandoned it,” Simons said. “We just didn’t exploit our strengths tonight. Sometimes you have to win ugly, and that’s what we did.
“Watching the second half, we were so close. Some of that was just having an off night. But some of that was needing some good fortune with the wind. And that’s kind of what we got.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High's soccer team was 9-1 and 11-3 at various points in the 2024 season and the Trojans went into its final game of the regular season tied for the Centennial League lead.
Topeka High junior Bruno Nunez (8) chases down a loose ball in Tuesday's 2-0 Class 6A regional loss to Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka High senior Antonio Aguirre (7) attempts to control the ball in Tuesday's 2-0 Class 6A regional loss to Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But injuries eventually caught up with the Trojans, who dropped their final three games, including a 2-0 Class 6A regional loss to Wichita Northwest Tuesday night at Hummer Sports Park.
"Injuries were a big part of it,'' Topeka High coach Derek Snook said of the Trojans' late-season slide. "We lost our mouthpiece on the backline with Manny (Salas) and Vador (Limon) both going out about 10, 11 games in, and not having Jaime (Alvarado) available as well and just being beat up and banged up really hurt us, and obviously Carlos (Acosta-Martinez) going out in this game.
"But we didn't do the things that we needed to do to finish either. The first 15 minutes of the game we had opportunities and just didn't finish.''
Northwest, the No. 12 West seed, improved to 7-10-0 while advancing to a regional final Thursday night while No. 5 seed Topeka High finished its season 11-6-0.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University women's basketball will begin its 56th season at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday with an exhibition game at Kansas State.
Washburn's Yibari Nwidadah returns for her junior season after averaging 12.4 points and 9.1 rebounds last season. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is coming off a 13-16 season in 2023-24, finishing 10th in the MIAA with an 8-14 record in the conference and advancing to the first round of the MIAA Tournament.
Kansas State was picked to finish No. 1 in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll and is ranked No. 13 by the Associated Press. The Wildcats are coming off a 26-8 season with a second-round appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The Ichabods were picked to finish ninth in the MIAA Preseason Media Poll for the 2024-2025 season and were tabbed 10th by the coaches.
Washburn returns eight letter-winners from last season's roster while adding seven new faces, with five incoming freshmen and two junior transfers rounding out the 15-player roster.
The five freshmen are flanked by four sophomores and a junior class that is six players deep. It is the first roster without a senior going back to the 1980's.
Among the returning group the Ichabods will have 70.7 percent of last season's rebounding returning along with 61.6 percent of the scoring.
A season ago Washburn averaged 67.6 points per game while shooting 39.6 percent from the floor, 29.9 from 3-point range and 69.7 from the free throw line. They averaged 39.1 rebounds to go along with 11.2 assists and allowed an average of 65.1 points per game.
Wednesday's matchup against Kansas State is the first for WU since a 68-39 exhibition loss on Oct. 31, 2021.
Yibari Nwidadah leads the group of eight Washburn returners, earning All-MIAA honorable mention as a sophomore. The Olathe native was second on the team with a 12.4 scoring average while shooting a team-high 54.8 percent from the field. She also led the Ichabods with a 9.1 rebounding average, second best in the MIAA. Nwidadah was fifth in the conference with 11 double-doubles.
Aniah Wayne was the third leading scorer for the Ichabods a season ago during her first year in Topeka. As a sophomore she averaged 7.6 points and 2.6 rebounds and made a team-high 45 3-pointers.
Gabi Giovannetti shot a team-high 37.0 percent from behind the 3-point arc a season ago while contributing 6.5 points on 38.0 percent shooting along with 2.1 rebounds and and 1.0 assists. She connected on 30 3-pointers in her sophomore season and had two games with more than 20 points.
Payton Sterk joins Washburn after transferring from Cal State East Bay. The 5-foot-10 guard will be a junior after averaging 18.5 points on 37.6 percent shooting with 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.4 steals a game. She started all 28 games for the Pioneers playing 37.1 minutes per game and made a team-high 83 3-pointers. Sterk is a Colorado Springs, Colo. native.
Kansas State is ranked No. 13 in both the Associated Press and USA Today/WBCA Coaches presason polls. It is the fourth time in program history that K-State is ranked preseason.
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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
Using a strong passing attack and a couple of well-placed free kicks, the Topeka West boys soccer team rolled past Goddard 7-0 in the first round of the KSHSAA soccer regionals on Monday night at Hummer Sports Park.
Junior Giancarlo Valenzuela (10) scored a pair of goals in Monday's 7-0 Topeka West Class 5A regional win over Goddard. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Freshman Valentin Del Real (3) scored two goals and had an assist in Monday's Topeka West 7-0 win over Goddard in a Class 5A regional opener. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The host Chargers (13-3-1) dominated possession early, but were unable to break the Lion (7-10-0) defense.
Topeka West produced its first serious chance in the 14th minute, with an open shot from freshman Valentin Del Real that forced Goddard goalkeeper Matthew Macy to make an impressive diving save.
About 30 seconds later, the Chargers would break the scoreless deadlock after a pass from D’Ante Smith Dilone’ found Giancarlo Valenzuela for the opening goal of the contest.
After taking the early lead, the goals came quickly for Topeka West.
After his earlier near-miss, Del Real drove through the Lion defense and finished with a goal, giving the Chargers a 2-0 lead in the 24th minute.
A few minutes later, Makaly Martinez was fouled on the left wing, giving Topeka West a free kick in a dangerous position. Martinez took the kick himself, putting the ball out of the reach of Macy in the top right corner to extend the Charger lead to 3-0.
Topeka West would add another goal just before halftime, after Diego Gonzalez-Talavera’s pass found Del Real in the 38th minute for the freshman’s second goal of the opening frame.
The Chargers started the second half quickly, with Gonzalez-Talavera joining the scoring frenzy with an unassisted goal just 30 seconds into the half.
Despite being down 5-0, Goddard continued to play hard, occasionally putting pressure on the Topeka West defense.
In the 44th minute, Goddard’s Kyler Mashaney found himself past the Charger back line, drawing goalkeeper Gage Kindred-Noragon out from the goal. Kindred-Noragon attempted to clear the ball, but it found the feet of Dylan Loerke, whose shot attempt at the wide-open net went wide right.
After the defensive scare, the Charger offense went back to work, with junior Morris Blick extending the lead to 6-0 in the 53rd minute after Del Real threaded a pass through the center of the Goddard defense.
In the 68th minute, Topeka West once again showed off its ability to produce chances from free kicks, with Valenzuela bending a shot into the top left corner of the goal for the Chargers’ final tally.
