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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
GUNNISON, Colo. -- Washburn volleyball ran its streak of consecutive sets won to 15 with sweeping victories over Western Colorado and Fort Lewis on Day 1 of the Mountaineer Volleyball Classic.
The Ichabods will wrap up the tournament on Saturday with two more matches, the first at 11 a.m. MST against Western New Mexico.
Washburn volleyball improved to 5-0 on the season with its fourth straight sweep Friday in Gunnison, Colo. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
All six sets on the day for Washburn were won by at least six points. The day began with an 11 a.m. local time match and ended with a second sweep at past 10 p.m. in the mountain time zone.
Match one: Washburn 3, Western Colorado 0
The Ichabods got off to a slow start in the first set but three straight points finished off by a block from Jalyn Stevenson and Alex Dvorak put them ahead, 13-11.
Western Colorado tied the set at 14 before Washburn won five of the next six points to take control of the set for good, winning 25-18 on a kill from Austin Broadie.
Points came early in the second set as the Ichabods led 11-6 following three straight kills. It was a defensive effort for Washburn all match. In the second set the Ichabods held the Mountaineers (0-6) to a .053 hitting percentage with nine kills to seven errors.
It was back-to-back blocks that pushed the lead to 19-11 and forced a timeout from the home squad. The Ichabods took advantage of errors from Western Colorado down the stretch, taking the second set, 25-19.
After trailing 2-1 to begin the third set Washburn won six of the next seven points led by a trio of kills from Broadie to gain control.
Both sides traded points through the middle of the set until the Ichabods pulled away for good late on a 4-0 run sparked by a kill from Bella Limback. They were able to finish off the match on an ace by Abby Leaf, taking the final set 25-16.
Washburn hit .233 as a team in the match with 43 kills while holding the Mountaineers to a .069 attacking percentage with 19 errors to just 28 kills. The Ichabods also won the assist and dig battles, 39-25 and 67-51 respectively.
Stevenson paced the squad with 12 kills while hitting .414 and added 14 digs for a double-double. Broadie finished with nine kills and a .313 hitting percentage.
Sydney Conner led Washburn finishing with 17 assists to go with seven digs and Taylor Rottinghaus finished with a match-high 18 digs.
Match two: Washburn 3, Fort Lewis 0
After falling behind 3-1 to begin the match the Ichabods (5-0) began to roll, winning eight of the next nine points including the last seven finishing with a kill from Emery Keebaugh.
After building a five-point advantage with the streak the lead grew to double digits after Sydney Conner snuck a kill in between the Skyhawk (1-5) defenders to go up 20-10. Both sides would trade points the rest of the way to give Washburn a 25-15 win to begin the match.
It was a slower start in set two as a service error saw the Ichabods down 8-6. They were able to tie the match up at nine on a kill by Austin Broadie and the teams traded the next six points.
Washburn finally created some separation in the set with five straight points, beginning with a kill from Bella Limback. Washburn hit .414 as a team in the second set and used that efficient attack to pull away late with a 25-17 win.
Set three began tightly contested once again with both teams tied at nine. Alex Dvorak sent a pass from Conner to the floorboards and that sparked a six-point burst for Washburn, which wrapped up with a kill from Brynne Topolski to make it 15-9.
Fort Lewis hit -.041 as a team in the third which stifled any chance of a comeback in the set. The Ichabods were able to empty much of the bench down the stretch and come away with a 25-15 set and match victory.
Washburn hit .304 as a team with 40 kills and just 12 errors. They held the Skyhawks to an even .000 hitting percentage with both 26 kills and errors. In assists, the Ichabods led 39-24 while holding a 50-30 edge in digs as well.
Dvorak led Washburn in hitting from the middle with eight kills with a .538 percentage along with seven total blocks. Limback and Keebaugh each had seven kills with Limback hitting .545.
Conner paced the team with 18 assists while Rottinghaus did in digs with 13.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Veteran Shawnee Heights football coach Jason Swift gave his team high marks for its performance in Friday's 53-8 United Kansas Conference win over city rival Topeka West at Hummer Sports Park.
Shawnee Heights junior Aiden Scott (14) threw for 333 yards and three touchdowns in Friday's 53-8 win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights junior Tyren Parker (1) hauls in a 21-yard touchdown pass in the T-Birds' 53-8 win over Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But Swift was also quick to give Trey Parker's Topeka West team kudos for its play.
"I would have to give credit to Topeka West,'' said Swift, whose T-Birds improved to 1-1 overall and 1-0 in the UKC. "I thought that was a well-planned game plan on both sides of the ball. I thought offensively they were able to take the ball out of our hands and they were able to make some movement and defensively they put a lot of pressure on us and made us have to respond and I thought we did.
"I just told the kids, 'Probably the difference in this game is we were able to finish drives and we were able to hold them off on their drives.' But from where we played Topeka West Week 7 last year to where they are now, they're a much improved team. That's a credit to coach Parker and that buy-in right there. I don't know if the score necessarily indicates how good of a game that was.''
Topeka West (0-2 overall, 0-2 UKC) put together several sustained drives, reaching the Heights 32-yard-line, the 40, the 26 and the 25 in the first half, but the Shawnee Heights defense came up with stops when it needed to, keeping the Chargers off the scoreboard en route to opening up a 25-0 halftime advantage.
"For us it's just a matter of learning how to execute,'' Parker said. "We feel like we can move the ball and we look good moving the ball. We did it last week as well, but then we get in that red zone and teams tend to tighten up and we just can't execute. It's just a matter of making the right plays at the necessary times.''
Shawnee Hights junior quarterback Aiden Scott topped the 300-yard passing mark for the second straight week, completing 14 of 26 pass attempts for 333 yards and three touchdowns -- 21 yards to junior Tyren Parker, 42 yards to junior AJ Gallegos and 74 yards to sophomore Christian Labrador.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn Ichabod soccer team picked up its first win of the 2024 season Friday with a 2-0 victory over the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs in Marshall, Minn. while former Washburn Rural Hailey Beck picked up her first career shutout in goal.
Washburn Rural product Hailey Beck recorded the first college shutout of her career in Friday's 2-0 Washburn soccer win over Minnesota State. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods will have a short turnaround, traveling to Wayne, Neb. for a Sunday contest against Wayne State College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Washburn put on the pressure early, recording six shots in the first 30 minutes of action.
The Ichabods struck first after a long pass from Presslee Amick found Riley Wells down the right wing, with Wells finding the back of the net.
Washburn took their 1-0 lead into halftime, recording seven shots while preventing any shot attempts from the Mustangs.
All-American Khloe Schuckman scored her first goal of the 2024 season in Washburn's 2-0 soccer win over Minnesota State on Friday. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods controlled possession for most of the beginning of the second half before a Khloe Schuckman shot hit off the crossbar and across the line to extend the Washburn lead.
The Washburn defense held the Mustangs without a shot until the 80th minute, allowing Beck to record her first and only save of the afternoon.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University football team will be in Yager Stadium for the first time this season on Saturday, hosting No. 5-ranked Colorado School of Mines in a 1 p.m. contest.
Ichabod coach Craig Schurig played at Colorado School of Mines before beginning his long coaching career.
Veteran Washburn football coach Craig Schurig will lead his team against his alma mater, Colorado School of Mines, in Saturday's 1 p.m. home opener at Yager Stadium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Ichabods have been idle since a 30-14 loss at Emporia State on Aug. 29 while the Orediggers, who are ranked No. 5 in the AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 6 in the D2football.com poll, dispatched West Texas A&M 41-13 in their season opener on Sept. 5.
"We feel like it's been very productive,'' Schurig said of the Ichabods' time off. "Obviously you know by how you play the coming week but hopefully we'll be a much better team. Obviously, we're playing a very good opponent in Mines, but I think we've improved and we've grown as a team having a game under our belt.''
Redshirt freshman quarterback Keller Hurla passed for a career-high 116 yards in his first career start against Emporia State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Redshirt freshman quarterback Keller Hurla led Washburn with 137 total yards of offense against the Hornets, including 116 passing yards, while Jacquez White led the Ichabods with 10 tackles, including seven solo stops, against ESU while adding a tackle for loss.
White's 10 tackles were a career high and is tied for second in the MIAA for tackle average this season while Hurla's 116 passing yards came in his first career start after taking over for injured Ichabod starter Sam Van Dine.
Former Highland Park star Tre Richardson caught five passes for 42 yards in his Washburn debut against Emporia State. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Former Highland Park star and Hutchinson Community College All-American Tre Richardson made his debut for the Ichabods against Emporia State, catching five passes for 42 yards and returning two kickoffs for 37 yards. Richardson also carried the ball two times for five yards.
"I feel pretty good to have a game in and a lot of practices under my belt,'' Richardson said.
And despite the Ichabods' loss to the Hornets, Richardson said he saw numerous positives in WU's performance.
"Nobody fell apart from Sam getting hurt,'' Richardson said. "We all wished him the best, but we had to move on to the next man up. That's the mindset that the team has and we still had the same goals going in there -- playing hard, winning the game -- and there were a lot of positives.
"Our defense played good. They just got tired of playing back to back to back, so all we've got to do is work on scoring the ball and we'll be good.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural posted an 11-stroke victory in Thursday's Seaman Invitational girls golf tournament at Village Greens Golf Course, led by senior Reece Randall, who tied for the individual title.
Washburn Rural golf posted an 11-stroke victory in Thursday's Seaman Invitational at Village Greens Golf Course, with six Junior Blues posting top-15 finishes. [Submitted photo]
Randall shot a 76 to share medalist honors with Hayden junior Izzy Glotzbach while Washburn Rural finished with a four-person score of 327 as the Junior Blues had six players post top-15 finishes.
Rural senior Natalie Peterson and junior Lauren Cox tied for third place with 83s while Kailyn Petersen finished eighth (85), senior Colbey Stead was 10th (91) and junior Briley Miles tied for 13th (93).
Hayden golf finished second as a team in Thursday's Seaman Invitational at Village Greens. [Submitted photo]
Glotzbach led Hayden to a second-place team finish at 338 while host Seaman finished third at 364.
Hayden junior Lauren Borjon shot an 84 to tie for sixth place individually while Addyson Baer placed ninth (86) and Nora Allphin finished in a tie for 11th (92).
Senior Jaycee Zimmerman led Seaman with a tie for sixth place (84) while Makenna Stuke tied for 11th (92) and Chloe Schmidtlein tied for 13th (93).
Shawnee Heights' Lyla Blair tied for 13th place (93).
SEAMAN INVITATIONAL
