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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Washburn survived two close games in the first round of the NCAA tournament Thursday and then finally got some momentum for an easy win in game three in a 33-31, 32-30, 30-13 win over West Georgia.

The seventh-ranked Lady Blues, seeded No. 2 in the region, will take on Central Missouri, ranked eighth in the nation and sixth in the region, Friday at 4:30 p.m. in Truman's Pershing Arena for a chance to advance to the South Central Region final.

Tessa Jones led the Lady Blues with 17 kills while Monica Miesner had 14. They both had double-doubles with Jones adding 14 digs and Miesner 15.

Jones, now with 570 kills this year, has the second highest total in school history as she passed Dani McHenry's total of 558 in 2003. She needs 27 more kills to get the most for a Lady Blue.

Washburn led 29-26 in game one before the Wolves went on a 4-0 run to force game point at 30-29. Miesner's kill then tied the game before UWG's Andressa Martins forced another game point. Miesner once again tied the game and then Jones' kill gave the Lady Blues the game point advantage. Martins' attack error on the following point gave Washburn a 33-31 win.

Miesner nearly completed her double-double in the first game. She had 11 digs with nine kills during the game that featured 11 ties and four lead changes.

Game two was played just as closely and once again the Wolves got to game point as they broke a 29-29 tie. Miesner's kill then tied the score at 30-30 and West Georgia committed two straight attack errors to give the Lady Blues a 2-0 lead.

After battling back and forth and fending off match point three times in the first two games, the Lady Blues left no doubt in game three. They took a 6-1 lead and then three straight attack errors by the Wolves gave WU a 13-7 lead. The Lady Blues led 17-9 before putting the game out of reach with a 10-2 run that made the score 27-11. The Wolves scored once more before Meisner's kill ended the match and sent WU into the second round.

The sweep was Washburn's 23rd sweep of the year, setting a school record.

Stephanie Nitz added nine blocks for the Lady Blues and led the team with a .368 attack percentage. She also contributed three blocks as WU won the battle above the net 11-6. Mandi Cox paced the Lady Blues with seven blocks, including a pair of solo efforts.

Erica Cowhick led the back row for Washburn with 16 digs while setter Kate Hampson had 44 assists.


Notes
- Mandi Cox needs one more block to move into the top 10 in school history, now with 358 in her four years. Six more would put her into ninth.
- Washburn improved to 3-4 in the NCAA tournament and 3-2 in the first round. WU has never advanced past the second round.
- The Lady Blues defeated Central Missouri in three games earlier this year in Lee Arena. Washburn is 0-2 against the Jennies in the NCAA tournament as UCM knocked the Lady Blues out of their first two appearances.
- Washburn is 7-39 all-time against UCM but has won four of the last five.
- UCM is making its record 25th straight NCAA tournament appearance.
­- The Jennies defeated West Florida 3-1 in the first round Thursday.
- Washburn improved to 28-0 this year when winning games one and two. It was the 23rd 3-0 sweep, setting a school record. The previous record was 22 in 2005.
- The other semifinal features No. 1 seed Truman against No. 4 Emporia State. The region championship will be Saturday at 7 p.m.