Box Score KEARNEY, Neb. --- The No. 2-seed Washburn volleyball team advanced to the Saturday's MIAA Championship game after it swept No. 3-seeded Central Oklahoma in three sets (25-22, 25-15, 25-15) on Friday evening at the Health & Sports Center in Kearney, Neb.

With an 8-8 tie in the first set, No.3-seeded Central Oklahoma (30-4) took control of the frame with a 7-1 run to make it 15-9. Washburn (28-5) then erased the Broncho advantage with an 8-2 run to tie the match at 17-17. Possession of the opening set was then kicked around as the sides traded tallies. With the score tied at 20, Washburn closed out the first frame by posting five of the final seven points to take the set 25-22.

During the frame Washburn converted 14 of 43 attack attempts for a .233 hitting percentage, while forcing the Bronchos into eight attack errors.

In the second set, the Ichabods took a 10-4 advantage early and never looked back as they quickly pushed the margin to double-digits with a 7-3 run to advance to a 17-7 lead. UCO tried to battle back late but the chasm was too large as it never got within more than eight before WU cashed in on kill from Leanna Willer and a  UCO attack error to win 25-15 and take a 2-0 match lead.

Collectively, Washburn had its best hitting set of the match in the second as it posted a .375 mark while holding the Bronchos to a sub-.100 average.

The teams exchanged points in the early moments of third to take its only tie at 4-4 before Washburn pulled away as it tallied five unanswered to assume a 9-4 lead. The Ichabods maintained its position the rest of the way as they pieced together another 10-point advantage with a kill from Megan Pedersen to make it 20-10. The sides then split the final 10 points as Vicory and Willer helped WU to a 24-14 lead before capitalizing on a Broncho attack error to complete the sweep and secure its spot in the championship match.

Barrick and Vicory led the Ichabod attack as each finished the night with 11 kills. Willer followed with eight as Pedersen chipped in with six. Shayla Conner and Natalie Bates tallied 18 and 17 assists respectively. Alyssa Carney had a team-best 11 digs, while Makayla Maxwell led all players with five blocks.

Washburn will face top-seeded Nebraska-Kearney at 7 p.m.