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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After winning its first six matches of the 2024 season, including four sweeps, Washburn University volleyball suffered a tough five-set loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville last Saturday in its final match of the Mountaineer Volleyball Classic at Gunnison, Colo.
Junior setter Corinna McMullen leads the 6-1 Ichabods in assists with 148 entering this weekend's PSU Regional Challenge. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But junior setter Corinna McMullen said the key now is to make sure that Saturday's defeat is nothing more than a temporary bump in the road as the 6-1 Ichabods get set for their final three tuneups this weekend before opening MIAA play.
"I'm upset about the loss, but at the same time I'm not happy it happened but sometimes it is essential for us to have it happen in order to grow,'' McMullen said.
And McMullen said that despite Saturday's loss the Ichabods are proud of their start to 2024.
"The team's been really excited about it,'' said McMullen, a former Louisburg standout. "We've grown a lot in these matches and I think even though we did lose, and we definitely should have won, sometimes you have to lose those matches, especially early in the season, to grow from them and learn where we have to grow from them.
"We learned that we have to show up in the big moments and our next goal for these next couple of matches is to win in these big moments and to want to be that player that is going to put the ball away or is going to make the good pass or make the good set.''
Washburn heads to Pittsburg this weekend for three matches at the PSU Regional Challenge in John Lance Arena, beginning with two matches on Friday before wrapping up non-conference play with a match on Saturday.
The Ichabods will take on Missouri S&T at 9 a.m. on Friday before facing Harding later in the day at 2 p.m. Washburn will wrap up the tournament on Saturday morning with a 9 a.m. match against Henderson State.
The 2024 PSU Regional Challenge will be made up of seven teams -- three from the MIAA and two from the GLVC and the GAC.
Joining the Ichabods from the MIAA are Emporia State and host Pittsburg State while Henderson State and Harding will represent the GAC and Illinois-Springfield and Missouri S&T will represent the GLVC.
The Ichabods went 3-1 last weekend, sweeping Western Colorado and Fort Lewis and adding a 3-1 decision over Western New Mexico before finishing the tournament with the 3-2 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Senior Jalyn Stevenson is the team leader with 76 kills (2.92 per set) while hititng .264 across WU's seven matches. She also leads the Ichabods with eight service aces and is second in digs, picking up 88. She is 16th in the MIAA in both total digs and kills per set. She has double-digit kills in four matches this season with three double-doubles.
Stevenson ranks 23rd in program history with 1,067 career kills and needs 81 more to crack the top 20. She is also 15th on the program charts in aces with 109. With four more aces she will move into 14th place.
Junior Alex Dvorak is second on the team in both kills with 63 and in hitting percentage with a .450 mark. She has started all seven matches and leads the team with 37 total blocks. Dvorak is 16th in the nation and secnd in the MIAA in hitting percentage and is 14th in the nation and first among MIAA players in blocks per set with 1.42. She has hit at least .333 in all seven matches.
McMullen paces Washburn with 148 assists (5.92 per set) through seven matches and is also third on the team with 68 digs while adding five service aces. McMullen is 12th in the MIAA in both assists and assists per set and has three double-doubles on the year and four matches with at least 20 assists.
McMullen ranks 13th in program history in total assists with 1,578. She needs 32 more to move up one spot to 12th. She also ranks 25th on the program charts with 87 service aces.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After advancing to the Class 6A state tennis tournament as a freshman in 2022, Topeka High singles player Madeline Deters fell short of that goal last fall.
Topeka High junior Madeline Deters won the No. 1 singles championship in Wednesday's Topeka High Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But while that near miss was disappointing, it has also served as motivation for the Trojan junior standout this fall.
Deters continued her solid start to the '24 campaign in Wednesday's Topeka High Invitational at Kossover Tennis Center, with Deters taking the No. 1 singles championship with a perfect 4-0 record on the day.
Now 14-2 on the season, Deters capped her title run with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Olathe East's Mia Huttenmueller in the final.
"I feel amazing,'' Deters said about her start to the season. "My sophomore year was not so great and I trained really, really hard over the summer to have a way better year and I think that's really showing.
"This year I'm definitely trying to get back to state and possibly place at state.''
Deters won last week's Topeka West quadrangular with a 3-0 record and also finished second in the Seaman Invitational and third in the Emporia Invitational.
The Trojans also got third-place finishes from Hailey Caryl and Ava Ritter in No. 1 doubles and from Cora Ambrose and Sophia Ambrose in No. 2 doubles en route to a third-place team finish, just one point behind runnerup Junction City (24-23). Olathe East won the team title with 31 points.
Topeka High finished sixth in No. 2 singles, with Gabby Falk dropping a 6-4, 6-1 decision to Topeka West's Taryn Gilbert in the fifth-place match.
"I'm really happy,'' Topeka High coach Duane Pomeroy said of the Trojans' performance. "All six of them were giving it their full effort clear down to the end. This was the longest day we've had so far and they were worn out, but they weren't going to give up.''
Caryl and Ritter took a 6-2, 6-3 win over Lawrence's Channing Saint Onge and Alexa Nauholz while Ambrose and Ambrose took a 2-6, 6-2, 10-8 win over Lawrence's Jaina Poettker and Bebel Piepergrdes.
Topeka West, Shawnee Heights and Highland Park also competed in Wednesday's tournament, finishing sixth, seventh and eighth.
TOPEKA HIGH INVITATIONAL
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
Third-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman volleyball hosted a United Kansas Conference triangular with De Soto and Leavenworth Tuesday, with the Lady Vikes returning home after winning the Lansing Invitational this past Saturday.
Seaman volleyball swept De Soto and Leavenworth in UKC matches Tuesday night, improving to 12-1 on the season. [File photo/TSN]
Coach Tatiana Dowling commented on the team’s focus after winning the tournament over the weekend: “I think we were a little unfocused tonight and, honestly, when I went up to the huddle to discuss that aspect of our game, our upperclassmen were already holding everyone accountable. Their exact words were, ‘We have talked about it enough. It’s time to start fixing it.’ ”
Seaman and De Soto squared off in the first match of the day, with the Lady Vikes winning, 25-15, 25-22. In set one, the teams went back and forth on the scoreboard until Seaman forced a DeSoto timeout with a 15-12 lead. The lead increased to 19-13 after three straight service points from senior Kinley Wilhelm. The Lady Vikes extended the lead and won the first set by 10 points.
Set 2 began with De Soto jumping out to a 10-5 lead thanks to excellent blocking. Seaman cut into the lead and trailed 13-12 following three service points from senior Maggie Moulden. With the set tied at 18, the teams traded points until Seaman pulled away late, winning 25-22.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights boys soccer team felt a big weight lifted from its shoulders Tuesday night at Bettis Family Sports Complex when it picked up its first victory after a stretch of three tough defeats.
Shawnee Heights junior Camden Granado (6) is congratulated by his teammates after scoring one of his two goals in Tuesday's 4-2 UKC soccer win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds fell behind visitor De Soto less than three minutes into the contest, but they never lost faith and finished with a 4-2 victory.
"The team feels great,” said junior Camden Granado, who netted two goals for the T-Birds. “It was a great way to bounce back.”
Granado matched De Soto’s opening goal midway through the first half when he fought through traffic with a pass from sophomore Mason Haas.
Sophomore Mason Haas had a goal and an assist in Shawnee Heights' 4-2 UKC soccer win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights junior Mikey Lilly (3) is congratulated after scoring a goal in Tuesday's 4-2 soccer win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Just four minutes later, Haas put the T-Birds ahead with a penalty kick after being pushed in the back near the De Soto goal. And two minutes after that, Junior Mikey Lilly gave the T-Birds a 3-1 advantage that held through the intermission.
De Soto opened the second period with another strike to close the gap to 3-2, but Granado gave the T-Birds an insurance goal at the 16-minute mark.
“We’re a young team this year. We only have four seniors,” said T-Bird coach Nic Simons. “So, we’re going to make mistakes. I kept telling the guys ‘Let’s learn from those mistakes, show growth, and it will pay off eventually.’ And it did tonight.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural put three players in the top six places on the way to a 19-stroke victory in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational girls golf tournament at Shawnee Country Club.
Washburn Rural's girls golf team poses for a team picture after posting a 19-stroke victory in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Reece Randall shot a 78 and senior Natalie Peterson an 81 to place second and third place individually for the Junior Blues, who won their second straight tournament championship while junior Lauren Cox tied for sixth with an 86.
Washburn Rural senior Reece Randall sinks a putt in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational on the way to a runnerup individual finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Senior Natalie Peterson posted a third-place finish in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I'm proud of Reece, Natalie and Lauren,'' Washburn Rural coach Jared Goehring said. "It was another strong showing for them and they've been pretty consistent all season.
"Reece has obviously been playing pretty consistent in our one bag spot and has had some good events here early on but we're looking for the depth to kind of get a little bit more consistent towards the end of the year.''
Senior Colbey Stead rounded out Rural's top four placers with a 91, tying for 11th place, as the Junior Blues finished with a team score of 336 while host Hayden finished second at 355.
Hayden junior Lauren Borjon finished fifth in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club, leading the Wildcats to a second-place team finish. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden got a team-best fifth-place finish from junior Lauren Borjon (85) while junior Izzy Glotzbach and senior Addyson Baer tied for eighth place individually with 87s.
Seaman senior Jaycee Zimmerman shot an 82 to place fourth in Tuesday's Hayden Invitational at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman senior Jaycee Zimmerman shot an 82 to finish fourth individually as Seaman finished fifth as a team.
Topeka West senior Alex Baxter narrowly missed a top-10 finish, tying for 11th place with a 91.
The city tournament is on tap next Monday at Western Hills, beginning a stretch of league, regional and state competition, and Goehring said the Junior Blues will be looking to step up their game for the stretch run.
"We've got to go,'' Goehring said. "We're at the halfway point next week so it's about time that we kick it into gear, especially some of these older ones.''
HAYDEN INVITATIONAL
