Washburn Ready to Compete for Regional Title

By David Boyce

Last spring the players on Washburn's volleyball team realized they had plenty of work to do during the summer months before the 2009 season started.

The Lady Blues were coming off a successful season. They reached the South Central Regional before falling in the first round. Many of the players were returning and knew the level they needed to reach to advance in postseason.

But the biggest reason for summer dedication to volleyball came because of what was arriving. Coach Chris Herron brought in seven freshmen.

Herron wound up redshirting three of them, but four freshmen saw significant playing time.

It meant reduced time for some of the returners, some of whom were now sophomores and enjoyed the status as the talented new kids on the block in 2008.

"Both those classes are pretty good classes," Herron said. "This freshman class is pretty special. At first, when you are a kid that's playing and then all of sudden somebody else is playing and you are not, that's a tough pill to swallow.

"It took a little bit of time and a little bit of swallowing of the ego for some kids to accept that. It's natural.

"All the kids knew the talent was coming. They worked hard in the offseason to get themselves better to fend off that challenge. It's a good group. It is fun to watch anybody's maturation process. All of them are a little tougher between the ears."

And they are all together and ready to do some damage in the eight-team South Central Regional, which begins noon Thursday with No. 3 seed West Texas A&M facing No. 6 seed Truman at the Multipurpose Building in Warrensburg, Mo.

Washburn, 32-4 and seeded second, takes on No. 7 Nebraska-Omaha, at 2:30 p.m. At 5 p.m., No. 4 Emporia State plays No. 5 Pittsburg State. The evening concludes with No. 1 seed Central Missouri taking on No. 8 seed Dallas Baptist.

"I think any of the teams in the tournament has a great opportunity to beat each other," Herron said.  "I can't speak to Dallas Baptist because I haven't seen them play, but we played West Texas. They are a very talented team. We saw them beat Emporia in five at our place. I can speak of the seven teams I know about and I think any of those seven teams are capable of beating anybody."

The Lady Blues definitely believe they have grown as a unit to be a serious contender for the regional title.

Through the course of the season Washburn returners have not only accepted the talented freshmen class, they view the newcomers as friends.

"They have really helped," middle hitter Mollie Lacy said. "We have had very spirited, competitive practices. It has helped everybody get better. We see it in practice. They have made a big difference."

Sophomores Lacy and Breanna Lewis know exactly what freshmen like Hillary Hughes and Jessica Fey are going through this season. They went through it last year.

"I think a lot of experience came out of last year," said Lewis, who leads the team in kills with 358. "We all grew a lot, especially over the summer. Experience was a big part of last year. We all experienced being in college and playing on a team and getting used to being in the atmosphere at Washburn."

Washburn heads into the South Central Regional playing some of its best volleyball of the season.

The Lady Blues know how to win a tough match against an equally talented team. They proved it in their last regular-season match, beating Emporia State 3-1 on Nov. 13.

"I think our chemistry is really good," Lewis said. "We have all bonded really well, especially lately. Last Friday's win was the best chemistry we've had and obviously that worked out playing Emporia."

It took some time for the Lady Blues to reach this point, even though they were beating the teams they were supposed to beat in the first six weeks of the season.

But on Sept. 23 and Sept. 25, Washburn suffered back-to-back five-set losses to Nebraska-Omaha and Central Missouri.

Herron said the Lady Blues were playing not to lose. The mentality needed to change.

"From that we have taken those steps to play without any fear," Herron said.

Washburn won its next eight matches before dropping a five-set match at Emporia State. But this loss was different. The Lady Blues dropped the first two sets before rallying in the next two sets, but fell 15-13 in the decisive fifth set.

"We learned that we can't give up," Lewis said. "Even though we didn't win it, we still put enough effort to know we could still win it. We didn't give up."

The Lady Blues are going to take that same attitude into Warrensburg, Mo. It's necessary because they know just how good the other teams are in the tournament.

Washburn split with Nebraska-Omaha this year. Both teams won on their home court.

"We know what this is going to be like coming into the tournament," Lacy said. "They are a top team. They have given us some trouble in the past."

Whatever happens, most of the Lady Blues have two or three more opportunities. But their mindset is this it for lone senior Kate Hampson, the setter who ranks second all-time in assists in the MIAA.

Herron said Hampson has been a very special player for the program.

"Obviously, next year we will still have a lot of people back, but this is Kate's last year," Lewis said. "She's the only senior. We got to play for her. We have next year and she doesn't so it is hard to look at it as we have next year."

So the Lady Blues want to make the rest of this season the best it can be.

"We are excited for this week," Lewis said. "We don't want our season to be over. We want to move on and be able to win a national championship and prove we can do it."

To reach David Boyce, contributing writer for the MIAA, email dboyce@themiaa.com.