TOPEKA, Kan. – Leanna Willer tied a school record with 28 kills in a four-set match as the Ichabods beat Pittsburg State, 3-1 (23-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-13) Friday night at Schendel Court in Lee Arena.
 
The win started a four-match home stand that will wrap up the regular season. The 13th-ranked Ichabods will host Southwest Baptist Saturday at 6 p.m. in their next action. They improved to 22-5 overall with the win and remained fifth in the MIAA at 14-5.
 
Willer played error-free the final two sets as she had seven kills in the third set and eight in the fourth. Her final kill got the Ichabods to match point at 24-13 and then Washburn won the match on a Gorilla attack error. Willer tied Monica Miesner (2007) and Dani McHenry (2004) with 28 kills, the most in a four-set match since single-match records were first archived in 1999. The 28-kill total tied for the fourth-most in any match at Washburn since 1999 and it was the highest kill total since current assistant coach Jessica Fey had 29 kills in 2012. The school record was 30 kills set twice in Washburn history during five-set matches.
 
Willer hit .364 as she had just four errors in a career-high 66 attacks. She added 12 digs, a block and two aces. Her 30.5 points in the match is the third most in a three-set match and she's the first Ichabod to score at least 30 points in a match since 2007.
 
The Ichabods led for most of the first set until Pitt State (10-17, 7-12 MIAA) went on a 4-1 run to take a 21-20 lead. The Ichabods scored two straight to go back up but the Gorillas scored four of the final five points in the set to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
 
The Gorillas then hit -.091 in the second set while Washburn hit .250 as a team. Kylie Miller served a 9-0 run for Washburn that put the Bods up 14-3. Willer had four kills during that stretch. Miller then served a 6-0 run in the third set that helped the Ichabods build a 13-6 lead. Three straight Washburn points gave the Bods a 20-14 lead to help them pull away and go up 2-1 after three sets.
 
The Ichabods hit .395 in the fourth set with just two attack errors. They led 6-2 and 17-10 and then they scored the final six points of the match to clinch it. Marissa Cox had two kills in Washburn's final run and she ended with 11 and a .391 attack percentage.
 
Alyssa Carney led Washburn with 15 digs and Miller had a career-high 13. Willer and Natalie Bates each had 12 and Bates had 46 assists for a double-double. Sarah Vicory had nine kills and she led Washburn with five blocks.
 
The Gorillas were led by Maggie Highberger with 12 kills and libero Ashlen Schwartz had 24 digs.
 
Washburn hit .242 as a team while the Gorillas had a .105 attack percentage. Washburn had 60 kills while PSU had 42. The Gorillas out-blocked Washburn, 10-9.