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Ashley Shepard had 13 kills and hit .464 and Mollie Lacy hit .643 as the Lady Blues beat Northwest Missouri State, 25-19, 25-17, 25-17, Wednesday night in No. 2 Washburn's home opener and both teams MIAA opener. The Lady Blues improved to 12-0 and swept their fifth straight opponent. They will continue action Friday at 7 p.m. against No. 11 Truman at Kirskville Primary School.

Shepard was error-free in 28 attempts while Lacy had 10 kills with one error in 14 tries. The two also led the team with three blocks each.

Breanna Lewis had nine kills with an error in 16 attempts to hit .500 and setter Kate Hampson had 39 assists and led the Lady Blues offense to a .376 attack percentage.

Monica Miesner had seven kills and joined Molly Smith on defense with 16 digs each to lead the team as the Lady Blues held the Bearcats (3-9, 0-1 MIAA) to a .161 attack percentage. Washburn out-dug NWMSU 63-46 and had 52 kills to the Bearcats' 37.

The Bearcats scored first in the match but after three ties, the last at 14-14, the Lady Blues took control of set one. Two straight kills from Shepard gave WU a 16-14 lead and then she closed out the set with a kill in the final point.

The second set featured eight ties and five lead changes. The Bearcats led early at 5-2 and 7-5 before an NWMSU attack error tied the score at 7-7. The two teams then traded leads six times until Washburn broke a 13-13 tie and led for good. Mollie Lacy forced set point at 24-17 and then a Bearcat attack error gave the Lady Blues a 2-0 lead in the match.

Northwest Missouri took control early in the third set with a 5-0 lead. Rachel Nisi, who led the team with 11 kills, had two of them before Washburn finally scored. The Lady Blues battled back and tied the set at 7-7and then finally went ahead for good at 10-9 on a kill from Shepard.

That point sparked a 7-0 run for the Lady Blues and the Bearcats never got within seven the rest of the way. After Breanna Lewis' kill forced match point, Hampson scored the final point on her fourth kill of the night.

Washburn had just eight attack errors in the match but nearly matched that with six service errors. Jennifer Kolarik led the team with two aces.


Notes
• Washburn improved to 7-0 in home and MIAA openers under Chris Herron. Washburn also improved to 8-11 in MIAA openers.
• Monica Miesner had her 58th career double-double.
• Washburn has swept five straight matches and has won 16 straight sets earlier in the year. This is the second time Washburn swept five straight matches. WU won 19 straight sets earlier in the season.
• The Lady Blues improved to 29-18 against NWMSU and have won four straight and 14 of the last 15.