Box Score
Season Statistics

EMPORIA - Monica Miesner had 18 kills and hit .452 but the Lady Blues hit just .105 as a team as they fell, 25-17, 25-21, 28-26, at Emporia State Friday night. No. 10 Washburn finished the regular season at 30-5 and 15-5 in the MIAA while the sixth-ranked Hornets clinched their first MIAA title, outright, with one match left to play.

The Lady Blues, ranked second in the South Central Region, will now wait for the NCAA tournament berth announcement, Sunday at 9 p.m. That announcement is schedule to be streamed live online by clicking here. The top eight teams in the region with a winning record advance to the NCAA tournament with the top-ranked team getting the chance to host each region. ESU was No. 1 in the latest poll.

Mollie Lacy had eight kills for Washburn but no one else had more than four. Kate Hampson had 36 assists and Molly Smith led the back row with 21 digs.

Miesner added 12 digs for a double-double and Jennifer Kolarik had 11. WU was out-blocked 7-3 with Lacy and Ashley Shepard each getting a pair of assisted blocks.

The Lady Blues scored the first point of the match but never led again in the opening set as they hit .089 and ESU had a .342 attack percentage.

In the second set both teams hit poorly and the Lady Blues hung with the Hornets and tied the score at 19-19 on a 5-0 run capped by a pair of ESU errors. They took the lead at 20-19 and 21-20 before ESU closed the set on a 5-0 run.

Neither team led by more than two in the third set until the Hornets used a 5-0 run to go up 14-11. WU clawed back and tied the score at 24-24 and had to keep matching the Hornets as they forced match point. ESU finally put the set and match away with a pair of kills.


Notes
• The Lady Blues had their seventh 30-win season and just their third since joining NCAA II in 1989.
• They will be looking for their fifth straight NCAA tournament appearance and their sixth in the last eight years.