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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
As the 2024 college volleyball season wound down, Washburn University's Austin Broadie thought her career might also be winding down.
Austin Broadie is off to a hot start for Washburn volleyball this fall, earning Most Valuable Player honors in last weekend's Washburn Invitational. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Broadie, a 6-foot hitter, had a year of eligibility remaining due to a redshirt season, but was set to marry former Ichabod baseball standout and current minor league pitcher Casey Steward in December, shortly after the season ended, and was ready to embrace her future.
But after some serious soul-searching, the Wichita Trinity Academy product decided she wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to the sport she loves, a decision that has paid big dividends for both Boadie and the ninth-ranked and 8-0 Ichabods.
"I was going back and forth and they let me take my Senior Night with my classmates,'' Broadie said. "Four years is a long time and I got married so I was happy with that, but then I decided I really liked the girls who were going to be back and I really thought we had a good chance and I was like, 'You only get this opportunity once,' so I decided to come back for my fifth year.''
Broadie continues to make that decision pay off, leading Washburn with 77 kills while hitting .399 with 14 blocks and 19 digs. The senior has four double-digit kill matches and was named the Most Valuable Player of last weekend's Washburn Invitational.
"She came back with a purpose,'' Washburn coach Chris Herron said. "She didn't come back just to do something, she came back with a purpose because she wants to do big things. She wants to win championships and see how far we can go in the NCAA Tournament and she wants to be an All-American.
"Those are lofty goals that she has for herself and she went about it the right way, too. She kind of laid out a plan during the whole spring and summer when she decided she was going to come back. We sat down and talked about it for a long time and she said, 'This is my plan and this is what I'm going to do and this is how I'm going to do it.' I like to get my own workouts in, so I'd see her in the weight room all the time.''
Broadie, who is officially Mrs. Austin Steward -- "My name's legally changed, everywhere but here for volleyball.'' -- spent time over the summer with Casey, who pitched for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws in the Philadelphia Phillies' organization, but still got her workouts in.
"She told me she was going to be gone for a month to be with her husband and she was going to do this while she was there and this while she was there and she had all that stuff planned out,'' Herron said.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High tennis came up short in its three Topeka High Invitational championship matches Wednesday at Kossover Tennis Center en route to a third-place team finish.
Topeka High senior Madeline Deters finished second in No. 1 singles in Wednesday's Topeka High Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hailey Caryl (left) celebrates Topeka High's No. 1 doubles semifinal victory with teammate Ava Ritter in Wednesday's Topeka High Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And although Trojan coach Duane Pomeroy would have loved for his team to claim a title or two or three, he had zero complaints about High's performance.
"I was really happy with how we worked today,'' Pomeroy said. "All of them did a great job.''
Topeka High's Madeline Deters dropped an 8-5 decision to Emporia's Kali Keough in the No. 1 singles final, while High's Hailey Caryl and Ava Ritter also dropped a close match in the No. 1 doubles final, with Emporia's Peyton Chanlee and Kinsley Hines prevailing, 8-6.
Topeka High's No. 2 doubles team of Astra Fizell (left) and Sasha Gotru finished second in Wednesday's Topeka High Invitational. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Trojans' No. 2 doubles team of Sasha Gotru and Astra Fizell also advanced to the championship match, falling 8-2 to Emporia's Alexa Tovar and Chelsea Mendez.
"It's amazing that we've got Sasha, that had never played tennis before the first day of practice,'' Pomeroy said.
Caryl and Ritter rallied from a 7-2 deficit to win their semifinal match over Junction City in a tiebreaker.
"My one doubles, the way they came back was the best they've ever played, that five-game stretch plus the tiebreaker, each game they just got more and more confident,'' Pomeroy said.
Deters showed her mettle in the singles final, rallying from 4-1 and 7-3 deficits to challenge Keough late.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
THURSDAY'S GAME
(Kickoff at 7 p.m.)
Zane Smith, Topeka High
WICHITA SOUTHEAST (1-1) at TOPEKA HIGH (2-0)
Topeka High will be playing its second Thursday night game in the first three weeks of the season and will be looking to start the season 3-0 after beginnning the 2024 season 4-0. The Trojans are coming off a 28-20 come-from-behind road win over Wichita Heights while Wichita Southeast lost 33-6 to Bishop Carroll last week. Senior quarterback Zane Smith is off to a hot start this fall for Topeka High while sophomore running back Ricardo Dowd is in the midst of a breakout season.
FRIDAY'S GAMES
(Highland Park-KC Schlagle kickoff at 4 p.m.)
(All other kickoffs at 7 p.m.)
G'Honi Montgomery, Highland Park
KC-SCHLAGLE (1-1, 1-0) vs. HIGHLAND PARK (2-0, 2-0 Meadowlark)
At Hummer Sports Park
The undefeated Scots will play the first game of a city doubleheader at Hummer Sports Park, kicking off at 4 p.m. Highland Park has yet to be tested thus far, rolling to Meadowlark Conference wins over Kansas City-Wyandotte and last week's 44-16 victory over KC-Sumner. Schlagle is coming off a 44-0 win over Wyandotte last week. Scot junior JoJo Kingcannon has rushed for 247 yards on just nine carries while junior G'Honi Montgomery has rushed for 187 yards on 26 carries. Montgomery scored three touchdowns last week, including a pair of kickoff returns for TDs.
SEAMAN (0-2, 0-1) vs. TOPEKA WEST (0-2, 0-2)
At Hummer Sports Park
Seaman and Topeka West will play the second game of Friday's twinbill at Hummer Sports Park, with the Vikings and Chargers both looking for their first victories in the United Kansas Conference contest. Seaman is coming off a 41-21 non-league loss to Shawnee Mission East while Topeka West dropped a 76-35 UKC decision to Shawneee Heights. Seaman junior quarterback Cale Ketter has completed 41 of 66 passes for 348 yards and two TDs while sophomore Quentin Moravec has carried the ball 40 times for 227 yards and four scores. West sophomore quarterback Josiah Wilkie completed 19 of 46 passes for 323 yards and three TDs against Shawnee Heights. Jayden Lindsay accounted for 155 yards receiving while Gad Munganga added 125 yards receiving.
Kellan Roth, Washburn Rural
PLATTE COUNTY, MO. (3-0) at WASHBURN RURAL (2-0)
Washburn Rural is coming off a thrilling 31-30 come-from-behind non-league win over Blue Valley last Friday while Platte County rolled to a 46-7 win over Fort Osage, Mo. The Pirates went 14-0 and captured a Missouri state title in 2024 and have outscored their first three opponents by a 156-37 margin this season. Rural quarterback John Hoytal threw for four TDs last week, including three to senior Kellan Roth. Junior Ryan Austin kicked a 31-yard field goal and the game-winning extra point against Blue Valley.
Canann Mitchell, Rossville
NEMAHA CENTRAL (2-0, 1-0) at ROSSVILLE (2-0, 2-0)
Rossville pulled out its second straight nail-biting Big East League win last Friday, edging St. Marys, 40-34, while Nemaha Central topped Big East League foe Silver Lake, 42-7. Rossville senior quarterback Canann Mitchell has completed 26 of 45 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns and carried the ball 33 times for 219 yards and three TDs. Senior Cameron Miller has caught 11 passes for 152 yards and two TDs.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Four Shawnee County schools continue to earn Top 10 spots in the Kansas Volleyball Association's Week 2 state rankings released Wednesday, led by Class 4A Hayden and 3A Silver Lake, who are ranked No. 1 for the second straight week.
Hayden volleyball is ranked No. 1 in the KVA Week 2 Class 4A state rankings. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake volleyball is ranked No. 1 in the KVA Class 3A state rankings for the second straight week. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden is 12-0 on the season after winning the Baldwin Invitational last weekend while Silver Lake was 11-1 on the season at the time of the rankings, with the Eagles' lone loss coming against 5A Shawnee Heights.
Rossville, 9-0, made a jump from No. 4 to No. 2 in the 2A rankings while Washburn Rural (5-2) is ranked No. 7 in 6A.
Current classifications for the rankings are based on enrollments from the 2024-25 school year.
The rankings will be adjusted when the updated KSHSAA classifications are released at the end of September.
Kansas Volleyball Association Week 2 State Rankings
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights volleyball has faced an uphill battle in the early stages of the 2025 season while wading through a tough schedule, including a matchup with defending Class 5A state champion St. Thomas Aquinas.
Shawnee Heights volleyball celebrates a point in Tuesday's UKC volleyball sweep at Topeka West. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
But T-Bird coach Sami Kearney is pleased with the progress her team has made, including Shawnee Heights' first sweep of the season in Tuesday's Topeka West triangular.
Shawnee Heights senior Avery Willey goes up for a kill in Tuesday's UKC volleyball sweep at Topeka West. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/Special to TSN]
Now 6-6 on the season, the T-Birds dominated their first two United Kansas Conference matches of the year, rolling to a 25-12, 25-15 win over Seaman and a 25-13, 25-13 victory over Topeka West.
"I feel like we're moving in the right direction,'' Kearney said. "We've just played some tough teams, and I don't think you'll get better as a team if you don't play good teams, so I want that challenge and they accept that challenge and we're just getting better every week it feels like, so I just want to keep moving up with them.
"It's always about records, but at the same time we've got to go play good teams to make it to state, so we might as well get started and see what we need to get to and it's a good goal for us to try to reach.''
Senior Avery Willey, who had a big night Tuesday, agreed with her coach that the T-Birds are improving all the time.
"I think we've played some great teams and the losses are fine because we played great volleyball and we're just going to get better from it,'' Willey said. "Playing bad teams all year is not going to help us get better so I'm glad we get to play those really good teams.''
