Box Score |
Season Statistics
WARRENSBURG, Mo. - The fourth-ranked Lady Blues jumped to 5-1 leads in the first and third sets but couldn't hold any of them as they were swept 25-16, 25-23, 25-22 Friday night at No. 7 Central Missouri. The Lady Blues (29-2, 16-1 MIAA) fell for just the second time this year and they will now play Saturday at 7 p.m. at Emporia State with a chance to clinch at least a share of their second straight MIAA title.
The Lady Blues and Jennies are now tied for first in the MIAA with 16-1 records and they've split their season series. Washburn, ranked No. 1 in the region, goes to ESU while UCM hosts Fort Hays State. Identical results Saturday would give the two their second straight title split.
Breanna Lewis led Washburn with 12 kills and hit .375 but the Jennies (26-4, 16-1 MIAA) hit over .300 in all three sets and .319 in the match. Washburn was kept to a .198 attack. The Jennies also held a 9-2 advantage in blocks.
Hillary Hughes had eight kills for Washburn and 13 digs, joining
Kelsey Lewis, who also had 13 digs, to lead the back row.
Abby Wittman had 29 assists.
Along with their early leads, the Lady Blues had a chance late to close out the second set and tie the match. They scored three straight to go up 19-17 and then a kill from
Mollie Lacy and an ace from
Kelsey Lewis gave Washburn a 22-19 lead.
The Jennies called timeout and then answered with four straight points and six of the final seven to come back and take a 2-0 set lead. Four of those points were on WU attack errors.
The Lady Blues answered in the third with a 5-1 start and also led 11-7 before Central Missouri, ranked second in the region, scored five of six to go ahead. After a 13-13 tie they went on another 5-1 run to take the lead for good.
The loss was Washburn's second of the year and second 3-0 sweep. It ended a 22-match winning streak overall and 25-match MIAA winning streak that went back to last year.
Allie Huffman had 13 kills and Paula Harris had 12 for the Jennies and the two were honored during Senior Night ceremonies as they both played their final home matches.
