By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Fresh off a Tuesday night road win, No. 15-ranked Washburn University volleyball returns to Lee Arena this weekend to host MIAA matches against Arkansas-Fort Smith at 6 p.m. on Friday and Northeastern State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
No. 15-ranked Washburn volleyball returns home for a pair of MIAA matches this weekend in Lee Arena. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn is 12-3 on the year overall and 1-1 in the MIAA after defeating Northwest Missouri State 3-1 in a non-conference meeting on Tuesday.
Veteran Ichabod coach Chris Herron said that the win over the Bearcats was a good bounce-back for his team after being swept at home by Nebraska-Kearney last Saturday.
"We needed to get that bad taste out of our mouth after the Kearney loss,'' Herron said. "So playing quickly was very beneficial for us.
"Kearney punched us and then kept punching us and we didn't react. This time Northwest punched us first, they were up on us 6-1 and I called timeout right off the bat, but we responded after the timeout. So that was good.''
Junior Emma Siron led Washburn with 16 kills against the Bearcats while junior Brynne Topolski slashed 12 kills while hitting .385.
Senior Taylor Rottinghaus scooped up 23 digs in the four sets while junior Shannon Frakes delivered 34 assists.
Arkansas-Fort Smith enters the match with a 13-3 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the MIAA while Northeastern State is 1-12 on the year overall and 0-3 in the MIAA in its inaugural season in the conference.
The Ichabods will be looking to regain their home mojo after already suffering three home losses this fall after only losing once at home the entire 2025 campaign.
"We're not used to this, we're not accustomed to it,'' Herron said.
Siron leads the Ichabod offense with 173 kills (3.53 per set) while hitting .227 on the outside. She has served a team-high 23 aces whille also scooping 121 digs and making 16 blocks.
The Sedalia, Mo. native has tallied 10 double-digit kill matches with six double-doubles. She is second in the MIAA with 4.19 points per set and kills per set and third in aces per set with 0.47.
Frakes leads Washburn with 518 assists (10.57 per set) and is second on the team in digs with 143 while also recording 46 kills, 22 blocks and serving 17 aces.
The Spring Hill product has four matches with 40-plus assists and has recorded a team-high seven double-doubles. She leads the conference and is eighth in the nation in assists per set.
Topolski is second on the team with 162 kills while hitting a team-high .288. She has added 89 digs along with 28 blocks. The Lincoln, Neb. native has recorded double-figure kills in 10 matches with one double-double. She is sixth in the MIAA in kills per set while ranking seventh in the conference in points per set.
Shawnee Heights product Rottinghaus has started 13 matches at libero, recording a team-high 213 digs (4.73 per set) and has five matches with 20-plus digs. The senior has also added 39 assists with 14 aces served. The senior ranks fourth in the MIAA in digs per set.
Sophomore Brooklyn Morrisey is second on the team with a .274 hitting percentage and has recorded 103 kills and leads the team with 54 blocks. She has recorded three double-digit kill matches and has five or more blocks in five matches. She ranks sixth in the MIAA in blocks per set.
The Ichabods rank sixth in the nation and first in the MIAA with 14.40 kills and 13.36 assists per set.
Arkansas-Fort Smith enters Friday's match with a 13-3 record overall and 2-1 record inside the MIAA after sweeping Northeastern State 3-0 last time out.
Last season the Lions went 13-16 overall with a 3-13 record inside the MIAA, missing out on the conference tournament.
Northeastern State enters the weekend with a 1-12 record overall and an 0-3 mark inside the MIAA after being swept by Arkansas-Fort Smith.
The 2026 season is the first in program history for the RiverHawk volleyball program.
Washburn will go back on the road next week, facing Pittsburg State next Friday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m.
