TOPEKA, Kan. – No. 4 seed Washburn advanced to the MIAA Tournament semifinals with a 3-2 (28-30, 25-18, 26-28, 25-15, 15-10) win over No. 5 seed Missouri Western on Tuesday, Nov. 17 to open postseason play at Lee Arena.
 
An all-around effort carried WU (28-4) to the win, as three Ichabods had double-doubles, five had double-digit kills and four had double-digit digs.
 
Even throughout the first set, Washburn's largest lead (four) came at 16-12 before the Griffons climbed back to tie it, 23-all late in the set.  From there, a win-by-two situation went back-and-forth until 28-all as MWSU stole the first set, 30-28 with two straight.
 
Looking to tie the match at 1-1 in the second, Washburn again rolled to a four-point lead (14-10) midway through the set, but this time held on for the win.  MWSU climbed back to within two (18-16) before a kill from Kelsey Barrick started WU on a 7-2 run that clinched the set, 25-18.
 
Out of intermission, the teams once again battled into a win-by-two situation that MWSU won, 26-28.  WU fell behind early before tying it at 10-10, but at 17-all allowed a four-point burst for the Griffons that pushed Washburn to the brink, down 21-17.  Facing set point at 24-21, Washburn rallied back to tie it at 24-24 but couldn't complete the comeback.
 
Facing elimination in the fourth set, Washburn strung together three 4-0 runs throughout the game en route to a dominant 25-15 effort, forcing a decisive fifth set.  Ahead five (11-6), back-to-back kills from Korie Thompson and Taylor Selk started the second of three four-point rallies for the Ichabods, giving them a 15-6 lead midway through.  Up 21-15, Carley Swan notched a kill to start WU's push towards the win, as WU finished with four straight kills (Sarah Vicory had a kill sandwiched by two from Thompson).
 
Washburn rolled out to a 6-1 lead in the final set and never looked back, taking the match 15-10.  The Ichabods had 14 kills in the fifth game and did not commit a hitting error in the frame.  Leanna Willer had four kills in that set, Barrick and Vicory each had three and Thompson and Selk had two.
 
Willer (17 kills, 18 digs), Thompson (14 kills, 19 digs) and Liz Powell (42 assists, 18 digs) had double-doubles for the Ichabods, as Vicory (18 kills), Barrick (15 kills) and Selk (14 kills) joined the attackers in double-figure kills.
 
Barrick swung .481 on the night with 27 swings, Vicory hit .368 on 38 swings and Willer hit .304 on 46 swings.  Carley Swan just missed double-digits, finishing with eight kills, a .318 hitting percentage and three blocks, tied for first on the team with Vicory.
 
Defensively, Alyssa Carney posted her second consecutive 30-plus dig match and finished with a team-high 38 digs, adding nine assists.
 
Natalie Bates, who had 30 assists, just missed a double-double herself with eight digs from the back row.
 
Tuesday's victory was No. 500 for Washburn head coach Chris Herron at four-year colleges.  He is now 500-104 in 17 seasons. 
 
Washburn will play top-seeded Central Oklahoma in the conference tournament semifinals on Friday, Nov. 20. The top four seeds all advanced with wins on Tuesday evening and will converge in Edmond, Okla., for the MIAA Tournament semifinals and finals.
 
WU and UCO squared off in the regular season finale last Saturday, Nov. 14, in a hard-fought match that went to the Bronchos, 3-2.  The teams split home-and-home matches this year as the Ichabods swept UCO at home earlier in the year.