By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 24-ranked Washburn University volleyball embarks on its final weekend of the regular season with a road trip to face No. 10 Central Oklahoma at 6 p.m. on Friday and the first-ever MIAA matchup between the Ichabods and Arkansas-Fort Smith at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Chris Herron's No. 24-ranked Washburn volleyball team will close out its regular season with a pair of weekend road matches. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Ichabods are 19-5 on the year overall and 10-4 in the MIAA. Washburn wrapped up its home schedule with a 3-0 sweep over Fort Hays State on Senior Day last Saturday.
Senior Jalyn Stevenson is Washburn's team leader with 268 kills while hitting .202 across her 24 starts. She is also second on the squad in digs with 278 and in service aces with 31. Stevenson is ninth in the MIAA in total kills, 16th in total digs and ranks fifth in total aces. She is top-20 in both kills and aces per set as well. Stevenson has 10 double-doubles on the year.
Stevenson ranks 14th in program history with 1,259 career kills. She will move into 13th with 35 more kills. She is also seventh on the program charts in aces and 19th in digs. She needs three aces to move up to 5th.
Alex Dvorak leads the Washburn defense with 118 blocks on the year while starting all 24 matches. She sits third on the team in kills with 190 and leads the team with a .371 hitting percentage. The junior is second in the MIAA in both total blocks and blocks per set. She ranks 13th and 20th in each category nationally, respectively. She is also 29th in the nation and third in the conference in hitting percentage.
Shawnee Heights product Taylor Rottinghaus has a team-high 461 digs across 24 matches. She has chipped in 74 assists and served 23 aces. The sophomore is 35th in the nation and seventh in the MIAA in digs per set while ranking sixth among conference players in total digs. She has 20-plus digs in five of the last seven matches, including a career-high 40 against Nebraska-Kearney.
Corinna McMullen paces Washburn with 567 assists through 24 matches with 22 starts. She is also third on the team with 213 digs while serving a team-high 38 aces. The junior is third in the MIAA in aces per set while ranking eighth in both assists per set and total assists. She has 12 double-doubles on the year, including each of the last five matches.
McMullen is 11th in program history in total assists with 1,997. She is tied for 12th in program history in service aces with 120. She needs three more aces to move into 10th.
Central Oklahoma begins the final week of the regular season with a 25-2 record overall, having won five straight matches. The Bronchos are 12-2 in the MIAA after sweeping Newman last time out.
Addison Wimmer has 283 kills to lead the Central Oklahoma offense while playing in 27 matches and making 26 starts. She is hitting .238 and has added 193 digs on the defensive end. Wimmer is fourth in the MIAA in kills per set and fifth in total kills.
Jenna Karp is the most efficient hitter in the conference, slashing .385 this season with 253 kills. She has started in all 24 matches she has played in and has served 15 aces while also making 63 blocks.
With 1,014 assists Lindsey Houran controls the passing attack for the Bronchos while starting in all 27 matches. She has served a team-high 25 aces and is second on the squad with 253 digs. She ranks top-20 nationally in both assists per set and total assists and is second and third in the conference, respectively.
Washburn leads the all-time series 17-13 over the Bronchos. The Ichabods are 5-7 on the road.
Central Oklahoma won both matches last season, winning 3-2 in Topeka and 3-1 in Edmond.
Arkansas-Fort Smith enters the weekend with a 14-12 record overall and a 6-8 mark in the MIAA during its first season in the conference. Last time out they swept Pittsburg State on the road.
Nyia Anderson has 286 kills to lead the offense while hitting .173 and starting all 26 matches. She also paces the squad with 359 digs and has served 25 aces and made 37 total blocks. Her total kills ranks fourth in the MIAA and she is 15th in digs per set.
Kaelyn McDonald has 167 kills on the year while hitting a team-high .326. She has started in 21 of 23 matches she has appeared in and is third on the team with 73 blocks. Her hitting percentage is fifth best in the conference.
Washburn leads the all-time series with Arkansas-Fort Smith 2-0 with the last match coming on Sept. 21, 2013. Saturday will be the first matchup between the two as conference opponents.
Washburn will find out its seeding for the MIAA Tournament after the weekend's matches.
The MIAA Championship Tournament will be held between Thursday, November 21, and Saturday, November 23, in St. Joseph, Mo. at Civic Arena.
