By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
In his 23 previous seasons as Washburn University volleyball coach, Chris Herron has never coached a home match anywhere but in Lee Arena.
Washburn University's volleyball team opened preseason practice Monday in Whiting Fieldhouse after posting a 21-8 record and earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament last fall. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
But that will change this fall as the Ichabods make Whiting Fieldhouse their temporary home while a major renovation project continues in Lee Arena.
And while Herron, who has led the Ichabods to a 624-140 overall record with six MIAA titles and 18 NCAA Tournament appearances, would certainly prefer to be in Lee, he promised that the Ichabods will make the most of the situation.
Veteran Washburn University volleyball coach Chris Herron talks to his Ichabods during Monday's practice in Whiting Fieldhouse. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Ichabods held their first official practice of 2025 Monday afternoon in Whiting and will open their home schedule on Sept. 12-13 with the Washburn Invitational.
"I've gone about this simply looking at it only positive,'' Herron said. "We're not talking about anything negative. We're not talking that it's going to be smaller because for us it's going to be smaller, but it's going to be loud in here.
"The seating's going to be limited, so people better get here early because it's a first come, first serve kind of deal. Here's what we're going to do: Instead of saying, 'Oh, poor us, poor us,' we're looking forward to the season.''
The Ichabods enter the upcoming season with high hopes after posting a 21-8 record last season and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Washburn opened the NCAAs with a 3-2 win over No. 5 nationally-ranked Nebraska-Kearney before dropping a five-set decision to No. 6 Central Oklahoma.
The Ichabods will build around a strong returning nucleus from that team, including five players who received All-MIAA recognition last season.
Alex Dvorak, a 6-foot-1 senior middle hitter, was a second-team All-MIAA pick and earned AVCA All-America honorable mention last fall while Corinna McMullen (5-5 senior setter) and Taylor Rottinghaus (5-6 junior defensive specialist/libero) also earned second-team all-conference honors and Austin Broadie (6-0 senior middle hitter) and Bella Limback (5-11 senior outside hitter) received All-MIAA honorable mention.
The Ichabods also have several underclassmen that Herron is counting on to make major contributions this fall after last season's strong finish.
"We're sophomore-freshman heavy, but at the same time we have all this experience at the top level,'' Herron said. "You have five kids that are all-conference returning, so that always on paper looks good, and you have a returning All-American, so that always looks good.
"We ended well. We had really good practices leading up to the NCAA Tournament and we played really well during the NCAA Tournament, so we just hope that there's a big-time carryover.''
