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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Veteran Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron knows that his Ichabods face a daunting task in Friday's 6 p.m. MIAA match against No. 5-ranked Nebraska-Kearney at Lee Arena.
Washburn volleyball celebrates last week's 3-0 sweep over nationally-ranked Missouri Western. [File photo/TSN]
After all, the Lopers are 24-1 on the season overall, 11-1 in the MIAA and swept the Ichabods 3-0 earlier in the season.
But Washburn is on a hot streak of its own, sporting an 18-4 overall record and a 9-3 mark in the MIAA after a pair of sweeps last week over Northwest Missouri State and No. 23-ranked Missouri Western, and Herron wants his team to embrace the challenge of Friday night's UNK match.
"I try to present to our kids that we have to treat it like and think of it as an opportunity, that we get the chance and we get an opportunity to play the No. 5 team in the country,'' Herron said. "And as long as our kids believe that, and I feel like this group does, then they almost relish the opportunity and they're looking forward to that opportunity.
"And that's how I want them to look forward to every match. That's hard to do that every match, but we only have four left (in the regular season) that we're guaranteed so there's got to be a sense of urgency.''
Friday's match against the Lopers will open WU's Alumni Weekend while the Ichabods will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday with their final home regular-season match against Fort Hays State (6 p.m.).
Before the match on Saturday Washburn will recognize seniors Emma Williams, Jalyn Stevenson, Maddie Steiner, Taryn Pridgett and Austin Broadie. The five seniors have played a combined 19 seasons with the Ichabods, appearing in 377 total matches.
Stevenson has been a four-year member of the WU program, appearing in 428 sets across 119 matches. She was an AVCA All-American honorable mention pick in 2022 and is a two-time All-MIAA first team selection. The Spring Hill native is 15th in program history with 1,234 kills and 19th in digs with 1,247.
Cair Paravel product Pridgett has been a five-year member of the program, appearing in 115 sets and 56 matches. Pridgett has tallied 170 total kills with 50 digs and 42 blocks.
Broadie has been with Washburn for four seasons, playing in 291 sets and 82 matches. She has accumulated 600 career kills with 191 total blocks and 145 digs. The Burns native is 24th in program history with a .243 career attacking percentage and is 33rd all-time in total blocks.
Williams has been with the Ichabods for three seasons as a player and one as a student assistant. She has played in 129 sets and 52 total matches, serving 16 aces with 43 digs and five assists.
Steiner is a three-year member of the Ichabod volleyball team and the Seaman product has appeared in 193 sets across 68 matches. Steiner has accumulated 309 career digs with 72 assists and has served 26 aces.
Washburn Rural soccer drops 3-0 decision to SM East in Class 6A semifinal, will play for third place
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawneee Mission East struck early and late in Wednesday's Class 6A soccer semifinal, taking a 3-0 win over Washburn Rural at the Shawnee Mission Soccer Complex.
The Lancers got a goal from Ben Perkins with 37 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first half to build a 1-0 halftime advantage before Lars Alsin added a pair of goals in the second half to give SM East its final margin.
With Wednesday's win Shawnee Mission East improved to 18-1-1 while Washburn Rural fell to 14-3-3.
The Lancers will play Dodge City for the 6A state title at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Stryker Soccer Complex in Wichita while Washburn Rural will face Shawnee Mission West in the 4 p.m. third-place game at Stryker.
Dodge City (20-0-0) advanced to the championship match with a 1-0 semifinal win over SM West, getting a goal from Osvaldo Chairez on a long shot with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. The Red Demons played without leading goal scorer Zahit Garibay, who suffered an injury in the second half of Monday's quarterfinal.
Washburn Rural, which is in the 6A Final Four for the fifth straight season, will be facing a SM West team that is now 15-3-2 on the season.
Class 6A semifinal
SHAWNEE MISSION EAST 3, WASHBURN RURAL 0
Washburn Rural (14-3-3) 0 0 -- 0
Shawnee Mission East (18-1-1) 1 2 -- 3
Shawnee Mission East -- Goals: Lars Alsin 2, Ben Perkins.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University has shown signs of being a very good football team this fall, but the Ichabods have been derailed by a string of close losses.
Now the goal for WU is to close out 2024 with a bang, beginning with Saturday's 1 p.m. Senior Day contest against No. 8-ranked Central Oklahoma.
Former Shawnee Heights standout Tyce Brown (17) is one of 19 Washburn seniors who will be honored on Saturday at Yager Stadium. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athleetics]
Washburn will take a 2-7 overall record and 2-6 MIAA mark into Saturday's game, but four of the Ichabods' losses have been one-score decisions, including three defeats by between one and three points and back-to-back losses the past two weeks by a total of four points.
The Ichabods dropped a 31-28 road game at Central Missouri two weeks ago before dropping a 14-13 home tilt against Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday.
"After '23 (a 2-9 injury-riddled season) our biggest goal in '24 was to close the gap and be competitive,'' Washburn coach Craig Schurig said. "We knew we were going to play some of the top teams and we're right there. Some of it is just not making the play when needed and that comes with experience.
"It's not a talent thing and I think with another year of physical strength and all those kind of things this team will make those plays and we'll reverse those scores.''
Obviously the close losses have been frustrating for everyone connected with the WU program, but Schurig said he's been very proud of how his Ichabod players have handled the situation.
"They've been awesome and it's like, 'Hey, let's win this week,' '' Schurig said. "We're playing UCO, which is a very good football team, and they're kind of where we want to be, and it's like, 'Let's see where we stack up against them.'
"I think our kids have confidence and know that we're close because you've got to get to this point before you can win those games. We're playing well, we play physical, we make plays. We just need to cut down on a couple of mistakes and get a break here or there and we win.''
Washburn senior defensive back Caeden Spencer said the Ichabods just want to do everything they can over the final two weeks to end the season on a positive note.
"These last two games we just want to come out strong and just play the way we know we can play,'' Spencer said.
Washburn will honor 19 seniors before Saturday's game -- Spencer, Tyler Bowden, DeAndre Washington, Andrew Pujado, Kamble Haverkamp, Jai Haynes, Kaleb White, Tyce Brown, Eli Garnett, Mason Capper, Brycen Labertew, C.J. Callaghan, Connor Searcy, Simeon Sullivan, Sam Underwood, Chase McCoy, Nicholas Orr, Justice Akinmoladun and Nate Harding.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 16-ranked Washburn University women's soccer team earned its second straight MIAA regular-season championship on Wednesday at Emporia State, with the Ichabods taking a 2-0 win over Hornets to wrap up their regular season.
Washburn University's soccer team hoists the MIAA championship trophy after Wednesday's 2-0 win at Emporia State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn's Mackinly Rohn (24) and Viviana Soto-Herrera (15) scored the Ichabods' goals in Wednesday's 2-0 win at Emporia State as WU clinched the MIAA regular-season title. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
The Ichabods, who improved to 13-3-2 overall and 10-1-1 in the MIAA, will be the top seed for the MIAA Tournament and will host a first-round game on Sunday at Yager Stadium. MIAA Tournament pairings will be set after the conclusion of Wednesday's games.
Washburn scored the only goal it would need in the 21st minute of the opening half as a shot near the top of the box from senior Viviana Soto-Herrera off an assist from senior Khloe Schuckman found the far post past the dive of ESU goalkeeper Mackenzi Goen.
Soto-Herrera's goal held up for a 1-0 WU halftime lead.
In the first half Washburn held a 5-4 shots advantage and a 2-0 advantage on corner kicks.
Following the break the Ichabods resumed control of the match, recording six shots through the first 20 minutes of the half, eventually leading to the second goal of the match.
Emporia State conceded a corner and after the free kick, a loose ball in the box fell to former Washburn Rural standout Mackinly Rohn, a sophomore, who doubled Washburn's lead in the 65th minute.
Washburn out shot Emporia State (6-8-3, 4-6-2) 15-8 in the match and held the Hornets without a corner kick.
Ichabod senior Alli Harrington recorded the shutout in goal, making four saves.
Topeka High product Avery Zimmerman, a freshman, started for Emporia State and played 84 minutes.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural soccer coach Brian Hensyel knows that his Junior Blues face a tough road to the Class 6A state championship, with the other three schools in the semifinals a combined 51-3-3.
Washburn Rural soccer celebrates after Monday's 4-2 win over Liberal in the Class 6A state quarterfinals. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But with Rural in the midst of a strong late-season run, including a 15-2 scoring advantage over its three playoff wins, Hensyel is confident that the Junior Blues have the firepower to get the job done.
Washburn Rural, now 14-2-3 on the season, earned a fifth straight trip to the 6A Final Four with Monday's 4-2 quarterfinal win over Liberal and will now face 17-1-1 Shawnee Mission East in a 6 p.m. semifinal Wednesday at the Shawnee Mission Soccer Complex.
Washburn Rural will be facing a Shawnee Mission East team that advanced to the state semifinals with a 3-0 quarterfinal win over Mill Valley. Dodge City (19-0-0) will host Shawnee Mission West (15-2-2) in the other semifinal. Dodge City beat Wichita East 5-1 while SM West topped Blue Valley West 3-2 on penalty kicks (4-3).
"Shawnee Mission East has had an awesome season and the other teams that are left, we've seen on and off the last couple of years and we've played pretty much everybody,'' Hensyel said. "On a given night we've got the players to go toe to toe with anybody.
"We can create offensive chances and we've got great goalkeeping and defending. We gave up a couple (Monday), but we've been pretty solid across the board in that area. It's soccer, you never know what's going to happen, but we can be right there with anybody.''
