Box Score
South Central Region Tournament Home Page

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Tessa Jones led the Lady Blues with 18 kills and Anna Simpson-Mills and Mandi Cox each added 11 as No. 7 Washburn swept Central Missouri 30-26, 30-23, 30-23 in the second round of the NCAA South Central Region.

The Lady Blues will play the winner of the Truman/Emporia State match Saturday at 7 p.m. in Truman's Pershing Arena for a chance to advance out of the region tournament and into the national quarterfinal.

Simpson-Mills lit up the court in game one with nine kills and just one error for a .667 attack percentage. The Lady Blues built a 22-13 lead on a kill by Cox before the Jennies got within four at 25-21 and then again at 28-24. Monica Miesner then set down a kill to force game point. After a WU error the Lady Blues got another kill from Miesner to win the opening game.

Both teams attacked poorly in game two. Washburn hit .167 but took advantage of .023 hitting from UCM. Three straight Jennies errors gave the Lady Blues a 14-5 lead early on. The Lady Blues held the lead and then went on a 5-0 run late in the game, sparked by two kills from Cox, to build a 28-18 lead. The Jennies scored five more times before Washburn finally put the game away on a kill from Jones.

Jones continued to dominate in game three, setting down nine kills and hitting .583 as the Lady Blues hit .326 as a team. After an 8-8 tie, the Lady Blues went ahead on a kill from Cox and held the lead for good. Washburn was looking to put the game away easily, leading 25-18, but the Jennies matched Washburn point for point down the stretch before Cox's kill closed out the match.

Jones ended the match hitting .455 as she committed just three errors in 33 attempts. Cox hit .688 with no errors in 16 tries.

Cox also had three blocks to give her 361 in her career and move her into the top 10 at Washburn. She needs three more to move to ninth.

Kate Hampson had 44 assists while Erica Cowhick had 19 digs and Miesner addedd 12. Stephanie Nitz led the Lady Blues with five blocks.

Notes
- Washburn, 4-4 now in its fifth appearance in the NCAA tournament, will be playing in its first region championship match.
- The Lady Blues improved to 8-2 this year against nationally-ranked teams and won for the first time in school histroy against a ranked team in the NCAA tournament.
- Washburn is 0-1 against Truman in the NCAA tournament and has never faced Emporia State.
- The 36 wins this year is the fourth highest total in school history and the highest since joining NCAA Division II.