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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Twelve Shawnee County volleyball standouts have earned All-State recognition from the Kansas Volleyball Asssociation, led by six first-team selections.
Class 3A state champion Silver Lake put 5-foot-3 junior setter Kylie Hanni, 5-5 junior libero Jaylie Whitehead and 5-8 senior outside hitter Jaiden Wise on the Class 3A All-State first team while Sarah Johnson was named the 3A coach of the year after leading the Eagles to a 46-1 record and 37 straight wins to end the season.
Kylie Hanni, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Jaylie Whitehead, Silver Lake [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Jaiden Wise [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]
Sarah Johnson, Silver Lake. [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Silver Lake 5-5 sophomore outside hitter Karys Deiter was named to the 3A second team while 5-10 senior middle hitter Paige Heiman received honorable mention.
Hailey Schmidtlein, Hayden [Photo by Scott Paske/KSHSAA Covered]
Blakely Walter, Hayden [File photo/TSN]
Hayden, which placed second at state in 4A after finishing third in 2024, is represented on the 4A All-State first team by 5-11 sophomore rightside hitter/middle blocker Hailey Schmidtlein and 5-9 sophomore setter Blakely Walter.
Senior 5-4 libero Ella Foster and 6-0 junior outside hitter Mallory Tanking were named to the all-state second team while 5-6 sophomore outside hitter Sophia Wichman received honorable mention.
Nora Burdiek, Rossville [Photo by Jesse Bruner/Special to TSN]
Rossville 5-10 junior outside hitter Nora Burdiek earned first-team 2A All-State honors after helping lead the Bulldawgs to a state tournament berth.
Washburn Rural 5-11 freshman outside hitter Brynn Anderson was named to the All-6A second team after helping lead the Junior Blues to a ninth straight state tournament berth this fall.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 2-ranked Washburn Ichabods improved to 4–0 on the season Saturday with an 88-57 rout over Winona State in Pittsburg in their final game of the Central Regional Challenge.
Junior Jack Bachelor scored 14 points with five assists and three 3-pointers in Saturday's 88-57 win over Winona State in the Central Regional Challenge. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn returns to a renovated Lee Arena for its home opener against Rockhurst on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
After falling behind 2–0 on the opening possession, Washburn responded with a 10-0 run midway through the first half, sparked by threes from Bryson Smith and Jermiah Jones and a fastbreak layup from Dillon Claussen.
That surge flipped the momentum and gave Washburn a lead it would hold for the final 37 minutes.
The Ichabods shot 50 percent in the opening half and knocked down eight triples to build a 41-26 advantage at the break.
The second half was more of the same as Washburn opened with back-to-back transition buckets from Smith and Brady Christiansen, then extended the margin with a 7-0 spurt capped by a Marcus Glock 3-pointer.
The lead ballooned to 33 points in the final minutes, the Ichabods' largest cushion of the night.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn volleyball celebrates Saturday after earning a share of the MIAA regular-season championship in Whiting Fieldhouse. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn volleyball poses for a team picture after earning a share of the MIAA regular-season title Saturday at Whiting Fieldhouse. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]Washburn, which improved to 24-3 overall and 13-3 in the MIAA, breezed through the first two sets with 25-14 and 25-9 wins over the Lions. The Ichabods were slowed in the third set before pulling away late to sweep the Lions (13-16, 3-13) with a 25-23 win.
Shawnee Heights product Kali Henry (right) is congratulated by her Washburn teammates during a long service run in Saturday's 3-0 MIAA sweep over Arkansas-Fort Smith. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Prior to the match seniors Austin Broadie, Sydney Conner, Alex Dvorak, Kali Henry, Bella Limback and Corinna McMullen were recognized.
The Ichabods got to work right away in the first set, leading 8-3 after Limback and Natalie Hedlund combined for a block. Later on McMullen served an ace that capped off a 3-0 run to put Washburn up 18-10. The offense went on to hit .333 in the set as they eased to the 11-point first-set win.
After Arkansas-Fort Smith took the first point in the second set, the next seven came from the Ichabods with the run wrapped up on a kill by Broadie on a pass from McMullen. Shortly after that a 6-0 run pushed the lead to double figures at 14-3. Washburn led by as many as 16 points, including the final margin.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Sophomore cornerback Josh Grant returned a fumble 83 yards for a touchdown, helping spark Washburn's season-ending 29-24 MIAA win at Missouri Southern. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Redshirt freshman quarterback Logan Madden threw for 186 yards and two touchdowns in Washburn's 29-24 MIAA win at Missouri Southern. [File photo/TSN]
Sophomore linebacker JC Heim registered 12 tackles and forced a fumble in Washburn's 29-24 MIAA road win at Missouri Southern Saturday. [File photo/TSN] - Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn women's basketball picked up its first win of the 2025-2026 season on Saturday afternoon, riding a late comeback to knock off No. 18-ranked Southwest Minnesota State 63-59 in the Ichabods' final game of the Central Region Challenge in Edmond, Okla.
Britany Kogbara
The Ichabods will return to action inside of renovated Lee Arena against Southwest Baptist at 7 p.m. next Friday at 7 p.m.
Now 1-1 on the young season, Washburn led early Saturday thanks to points in the paint from Yibari Nwidadah and Britany Kogbara. The Ichabod lead reached six points at 15-9 after a driving basket by Brooke Gomez as WU led the Mustangs (2-2) 17-12 after the opening quarter.
Kogbara got the first basket of the second quarter but after that Southwest Minnesota State took over, scoring the next nine points to lead by two. The deficit reached double figures at 33-22 as the Mustangs connected on five 3-pointers in the quarter. Washburn battled through the hot shooting with five more points from Kogbara in the final 90 seconds to give her 15 in the half and cut the Southwest Minnesota State lead to 35-29 at the break.
After the first two points of the half went to Southwest Minnesota State the next 10 points went to the Ichabods as they tied the game with a bucket by Nwidadah and went in front on a pair of free throws by Payton Sterk. Southwest Minnesota State answered right back, going in front by five to end the third quarter leading 47-42.
The Mustangs' lead reached nine with under eight minutes to play. At the 5:36 mark Sterk drilled a 3-pointer to make it 53-49 and start the Ichabod rally. Washburn got within three in the final three minutes and finally came all the way back to tie it up at 59 after Madelyn Amekporfor hit a jumper at the 1:53 mark. She followed with a fastbreak layup to put Washburn in front. The Ichabods forced three straight turnovers and sank free throws on the other end in the final minute to take the four-point win.
