Box Score
Season Statistics
The Lady Blues took their highest ranking in school history and a 15-game winning streak on the road to No. 6 Truman and nearly gave it all away as the Bulldogs went up two games to none, but No. 5 Washburn won the next two and then used an error-free fifth game to defeat Truman in five games (25-30, 22-30, 30-25, 30-25, 15-11) Tuesday night.
The win pushed the Lady Blues to 21-1 and left them as the only undefeated school in the MIAA at 6-0. It also gave head coach
Chris Herron his 167th career win, tying him for first all-time at Washburn.
The Lady Blues will look to keep their streak going when they play four games at home hosting the Premier Mortgage Lady Blues Fall Classic Friday and Saturday. Washburn will play Panhandle State at noon Friday and then follow at 6 p.m. with Abilene Christian. The 10-team tournament will be played on two courts in Lee Arena.
Tessa Jones and
Monica Miesner each recorded double-doubles with Jones leading the team with 18 kills while adding 16 digs. Miesner, the reigning MIAA hitter of the week, had 16 kills and 27 digs.
Mandi Cox also added double-figure kills with 15 and led the attackers with a .294 percentage.
The Lady Blues had to overcome poor team hitting early on. They hit .158 in game one and .042 in the second game while the Bulldogs topped .200 in both games. Neither team hit well in the third and fourth game but Washburn did just enough to hold on and force a game five, the fourth of the year. The Lady Blues hit .571 in the deciding game with 12 kills in 21 attempts with no errors while the Bulldogs held close with a .310 percentage.
The Lady Blues' defense kept them in the match as they recorded a season-high 120 digs to go along with 16 blocks.
Erica Cowhick reached the 30-dig mark for the first time this year as she led the team with 39. Setter
Kate Hampson had 16 digs while reaching the 50-assist mark for the seventh straight match with 54 assists.
Kelci Wigger came off the bench to lead the team with seven assisted blocks.
Niether team came out strong as 11 of the first 19 points were scored on attack errors in game one. Washburn benifited most from the mistakes, leading 11-7 after a 7-0 run. The Bulldogs fought back and tied the score at 20-20 and was able to control from then on.
After falling easily in game two, the Lady Blues started strong in the third game. They led 5-1 and then 10-4 before a Truman timeout. The Bulldogs pulled within three late in the game, but Washburn held on for its first win.
Truman jumped ahead in game four looking to clinch the match. The Bulldogs led 12-6 before giving up a 9-1 run that put the Lady Blues up 15-13. After TSU tied the score at 15-15, the Lady Blues took command and led the rest of the way.
Washburn raced ahead to a 5-1 lead in the fifth game, forcing a Truman timeout. The Bulldogs rallied and pulled within two at 8-6, prompting a timeout by WU. Washburn kept Truman from coming back and Jones scored the final three points off kills for the Lady Blues to give them the win.
The win made Washburn 6-0 to start the MIAA season for the first time in school history. It also gave them 16 straight overall wins, two shy of tying a school record. The Lady Blues improved to 4-0 this year against ranked teams and 4-0 in five-game matches.
Herron's win tied him with Linda Moley, Washburn's coach from 1982-86 who went 167-108. Herron is 167-35 in his two years at Washburn and is already the school's leader by winning percentage with an .827 mark.
