Box Score

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Tessa Jones led the Lady Blues with 27 kills and Washburn forced game five after falling behind 2-0, but the Gorillas hung on for a 30-23, 30-20, 26-30, 25-30, 15-13 win in the semifinal of the MIAA Postseason Tournament Friday night.

The 18th-ranked Gorillas, who had lost in five games in the previous two meetings against the Lady Blues, will play for the MIAA title Saturday at 7 p.m. against the Emporia State/Truman winner.

No. 6 Washburn (34-3) will return home and await word on the NCAA tournament. The Lady Blues are the top-ranked team in the South Central Region and would host the eight-team regional November 15-17 if they stay the top seed. The NCAA will announce the tournament berths Monday morning in a live webcast.

NCAA II Women's Volleyball Selection Show

The Lady Blues were overpowered in games one and two as the Gorillas opened up with a .545 attack percentage in game one and then a .425 effort in the second game. They committed just seven attack errors in those games with just two in game one.

Washburn, 5-0 in five-game matches coming into the night, forced the deciding game by winning games three and four.

The Lady Blues were down 11-13 before Jones got a kill that started a 7-0 run. She had one more kill in the run, but the rest of the points were scored on PSU errors to give the Lady Blues an 18-13 lead. The Gorillas fought back and got within one at 25-24, but Jones' kill later put WU up by three and then Simpson-Mills finished off the game with a kill.

The Lady Blues hit just .159 in that game, but took advantage of .017 hitting by the Gorillas.

Game four was played back and forth as there were nine ties and three lead changes. PSU tied the score at 19-19 on a WU attack error, but Washburn built a five-point lead at 25-20 and then held off PSU for a five-point win.

Erica Cowhick moved into second all-time in the MIAA with 14 digs to total 2,334 in her four years. She is already the school's career leader.

Jones hit .351 with 27 kills in 57 attempts with seven errors. Simpson-Mills and Mandi Cox reached double figures with 10 kills each and Cox hit .348 for the night.

Kate Hampson had 62 assists and Monica Miesner led the back row with 17 digs while Jones added 12 for a double-double. Cox and Stephanie Nitz led the team with seven blocks each.