By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Freshman libero/defensive specialist Avery Willey's Friday took a drastic turn the minute Washburn senior volleyball standout Taylor Rottinghaus grabbed her injured hamstring late in the Ichabods' first match of the day against Arkansas Tech and was sidelined for the remainder of the day.
Freshman Avery Willey celebrates a service ace with her Washburn teammates in Friday's Washburn Invitational win over William Jewell. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And suddenly, just two days into her college career, the Shawnee Heights product was faced with the task of replacing Washburn's most experienced player.
But Willey was up to the task, helping the No. 8 ranked Ichabods finish off a 3-0 sweep over Arkansas Tech and take a 3-1 win over William Jewell to improve to 3-0 in the season-opening Washburn Invitational in Lee Arena.
"I was definitely nervous, but my teammates were there for me and told me they trusted me and believed in me, so I was just leaning on them the entire process and that helped me a lot,'' Willey said.
Willey was well aware of the magnitude of trying to fill in for Rottinghaus, also a former T-Bird.
"I was a freshman when she was a senior,'' Willey said. "She's an amazing leader. She's vocal and she told me before the game to be the loudest one out there and lead by example. She's definitely the biggest spark we have on our team as far as energy.''
Willey also wanted to make sure she didn't let Ichabod coach Chris Herron down.
"(Coach) always says he gives opportunities and once you're thrown in you have to make the most of it, so I knew at some point I would get an opportunity and just wanted to try to make the most of what I'm doing out there,'' she said.
Avery Willey makes a diving save in Friday's Washburn Invitational in Lee Arena. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Suffice it to say Herron was pleased.
"Avery Willey was amazing, she was so good,'' Herron said. "We knew she was going to be our next libero when she committed to us. She had a whole bunch of opportunities to play other places, too, and we've been recruiting her since seventh grade and I'm being serious about that.
"I've wanted that kid forever. I just love her nose for the ball. She has no fear whatsoever and great ball control, so I'm just excited for her and happy for her. We have a lot of young kids that do some really good things.''
Rottinghaus' injury doesn't appear to be serious, meaning that the Ichabods could have both liberos available in the near future.
"That was scary,'' Herron said of Rottinghaus' injury. "She grabbed that hamstring and she's obviously got a little pull in it, so we're going to let her lay off of it and probably not even practice this entire week and see how it goes for next weekend and that kind of thing.''
Washburn opened its day with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-19 win over Arkansas Tech.
Washburn took control early in the first set with consecutive kills from Emma Siron to go up 5-2.
Arkansas Tech (1-1) came back to tie the set twice and would eventually take a 15-13 lead on the strength of a 5-0 rally.
A kill by Brooklyn Morrisey started a four-point burst that put the Ichabods back in front and they were able to finish the set with three straight points to close out the four-point win.
Both sides split the first 20 points of the second set before a three-point burst by Washburn put it front, 15-12.
Shannon Frakes' kill gave the Ichabods a 20-15 advantage, but the Golden Suns pulled back within two points before the Ichabods took the final three points of the set.
Washburn's momentum carried over into the third set as Natalie Hedlund's kill started a 7-0 run to open the set.
The Ichabod lead grew to double-digits at 14-4 after a Morrisey kill but Arkansas Tech was able to pull as close as four points before Washburn put the match away on a kill by Kennedy Dirks for a second straight six-point win.
The Ichabods tallied 50 kills while hitting .333 as a team and held the Golden Suns to a .171 hitting percentage on 35 kills. Washburn also led 49-39 in digs and held a 45-31 edge in assists.
Junior Emma Siron (8) had 17 kills in Washburn's 3-0 sweep over Arkansas Tech in Friday's Washburn Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Siron had 17 kills while hitting .371 and scooping up eight digs. Brynne Topolski added 11 kills with three blocks while Frakes dished out 34 assists with 11 digs for a double-double and Morrisey added eight kills and hit .500.
Washburn juggled its lineup in the first set against William Jewell and the Cardinals (0-2) got out to a quick 9-4 start and eventually went in front 18-10 on the way to a 25-17 win.
The Ichabods quickly regained control of the match, however, pulling even with a 25-12 win followed by 25-15 and 25-8 wins to close out the match.
Washburn hit over .300 in each of the last three sets against William Jewell to finish at .264 for the match with 51 kills while the Cardinals landed 27 kills and hit .031 as a team. Digs went 65-41 in favor of the Ichabods as did assists, 43-25.
Morrisey led the Ichabods with 12 kills and hit a scorching .647 with seven blocks while Topolski hit .500 with 11 kills, Frakes had 33 assists and Willey scooped a career-high 17 digs.
The Ichabods will close out the tournament with a 2 p.m. match against Westminster on Saturday.
MATCH RESULTS
Washburn def. Arkansas Tech, 25-21, 25-19, 25-19.
Washburn def. William Jewell, 17-25, 25-12, 25-15, 25-8.
