Women's Volleyball | 9/16/2018 1:37:27 PM
Each week David Boyce, the MIAA’s featured writer, will cover a key match-up in one of the conference’s sports. In this week’s MIAA Showcase, Boyce covered volleyball’s match-up between No. 1 Nebraska Kearney at Washburn.
TOPEKA, Kan. - Before the Washburn volleyball players left their locker room Saturday afternoon at Lee Arena, they read a few words their coach put on a board.
It said: Nebraska-Kearney 13-0, ranked No. 1; Washburn 13-0, not.
Washburn coach Chris Herron had no problem with his team coming into the early-season MIAA contest with a little chip on its shoulder. It was going to take great play and intensity from the Ichabods to knock off Nebraska-Kearney, the No. 1 ranked team in Division II in the American Volleyball Coaches Association top 25.
All Washburn got for its perfect start was 12 votes in the most recent poll.
However, none of those talking points mattered once the two teams took the court. The two teams thrilled a crowd of 875 people with a high-level brand of volleyball. It was a match that could have gone either way.
But Washburn, feeding off the energy of some outstanding hitting from junior outside hitter Erica Montgomery, sophomore middle hitter Allison Maxwell and senior middle hitter Makayla Maxwell, came away with a 25-22, 17-25, 25-19, 25-23 victory.
“Our whole team played to the best of our abilities,” said Montgomery, who finished with a team-high 18 kills. “We had a great flow going on. We had defense. We had blocks. All of us were doing our job. It wasn’t one person.”
It was the first time that Washburn, 14-0 and 2-0 in the MIAA, beat a No. 1 ranked team since 2007 when the Ichabods defeated Tampa at Lee Arena in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II national tournament.
Saturday’s match was very close to going to a fifth set. Tied at 23-23, both sides made great saves and digs to keep the point going until Allison Maxwell came up with a big hit to give Washburn the lead.
“It felt fantastic,” Maxwell said. “It wasn’t a game-changer, but it is what led us to the final point.”
On the next play, sophomore Faith Rottinghaus ended the match with a service ace and that dropped Nebraska-Kearney’s record to 13-1 and 1-1.
“I obviously couldn’t have been in that position without my teammates,” Rottinghaus said. “They all worked hard the whole game. I was surprised to be back there when it was my turn. I looked back in the back, took a deep breath because I knew I had to relax. I served the ball and it was all there.”
Whether they won or loss, Herron wanted to see how his team stacked up against a top-notch opponent.
“The biggest thing is we blocked well,” Herron said. “We also did a little bit better job on (Mary Katherine) Wolfe. She was killing us in the second set. I am really happy for our team. We beat the No. 1 team in the country. That is a big accomplishment.”
Nebraska-Kearney coach Rick Squiers said there were plenty of positives his players can take away from the match.
“We played two good teams this weekend on the road,” Squiers said. “Washburn is really talented and can come at you in a lot of different ways. We were in position to may be win the match if we made a couple of plays here and there.
“I thought our kids battled and competed. It can be a step forward for us as we make our way through the season.”
Much of the match was like the fourth set. Players for both teams were coming up with booming hits, nice digs and some great blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Mary Katherine Wolfe, senior outside hitter Kendall Schroer and junior Julianne Jackson all reached double figures in kills.
Defensively, Nebraska-Kearney senior Ellie McDonnell had 38 digs while junior Katie Heeter had 19 for Washburn.
Washburn overcame a 15-11 deficit in the first set and rallied to win it 25-22. After both teams basically traded points through the first 20 points, the Lopers got a little separation by scoring four in a row for a 15-11 lead.
A timeout was called by the Ichabods to settle them down. They responded. Trailing 16-12, Washburn scored the next four points and tied the set at 16-16.
The key moment came when Washburn held a slim 22-20 lead. Allison Maxwell came up with her fifth kill of the set and gave the Ichobods a three-point cushion.
Nebraska-Kearney came out strong in the second set and quickly built a 9-4 lead. A kill by Mackenzie Puckett gave the Lopers a five-point lead.
The Ichabods closed the gap, pulling to 11-10. But Nebraska-Kearney never gave up the lead. Ahead 14-12, Puckett had a couple of more thunderous kills that helped the Lopers extend their lead to 18-12.
Nebraska-Kearney remained in control the rest of the second set and closed it out with a kill by Schroer.
In the pivotal third set, Washburn came out strong and took an 8-4 lead. The momentum was all on the Ichabods’ side when Montgomery gave Washburn a 12-7 lead on a crowd-pleasing kill.
“We just had to make sure we came out with a new game and bring it to them,” Montgomery said.
Washburn put the set away 25-19 on a kill by freshman Kelsey Gordon. The bad news for the Lopers occurred when they trailed 23-16. Wolfe, their top outside hitter, suffered an ankle injury and limped off the court. She had 13 kills at that moment, more than twice as many as any of her teammates. When the fourth set started, Wolfe was on the sidelines doing a few drills to test her ankle.
“I think it was one of those that it scares the heck out of everybody at first,” Squiers said. “Hopefully, it is not the long-term situation with the ankle. She was able to come back in without a lot of pain. She was having a great match and a really good early season. We need her to be healthy.”
Thanks to a couple of strong kills by Maxwell, Washburn took an early 6-3 lead in the fourth set. Wolfe returned with the Lopers trailing 7-4. The moved sparked the Lopers, who scored the next three points to tie it at 7-7.
The Ichabods broke the tie and took a 10-8 lead. Nebraska-Kearney scored the next four points for a 12-10 lead. It remained close the rest of the fourth set, which made for a suspenseful, entertaining conclusion.
“This was unbelievable,” Maxwell said. “You just have to believe in yourself and that is why we did it.”
SATURDAY’S VOLLEYBALL SCORES AROUND THE MIAA
No. 15 Central Oklahoma 3, Missouri Southern 0 - Edmond, Oklahoma
Emporia State 3, Fort Hays 0 - Emporia, Kansas
Missouri Western 3, Lindenwood 1 - St. Joseph, Missouri
Northwest Missouri 3, No. 9 Central Missouri 0 - Maryville, Missouri
Pittsburg State 3, Southwest Baptist 1 - Pittsburg, Kansas
Washburn 3, No.1 Nebraska Kearney 1 - Topeka, Kansas
*Rankings from AVCA Division II Coaches Poll