EMPORIA, Kan. – No. 7 Washburn opened the MIAA portion of its 2015 volleyball campaign with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-23, 25-13) sweep over rival Emporia State on Tuesday, Sept. 22.
 
The Ichabods (12-0, 1-0 MIAA) remained unbeaten for the season after hitting .202 in the match, while ESU (5-5, 0-1 MIAA) hit just .071 as a team.
 
WU jumped out to an 8-2 lead early in the set, though ESU climbed back to within four at 13-9.  From there, the Ichabods pulled away for a second time, going on a 5-0 run that ended with three straight kills from Leanna Willer.  After an ESU timeout, the Hornets responded to cut the lead to six (22-16), but Washburn used its early advantage to take the set, 25-16.  Willer totaled seven kills in the first set while Sarah Vicory and Taylor Selk each had three blocks.
 
The second set was a battle throughout, tied at 10-10, 15-15 and 20-all.  A late four-point burst had WU looking at set point, 24-20, but the Hornets answered with three straight of their own to keep things close.  WU hung on to take the set, however, 25-23, with Willer's 10th kill of the night.
 
An 8-0 run early in the first was all the separation WU needed to complete the sweep, winning the third set, 25-13.  Tied at 3-3, Vicory's first kill of the set started the stretch of eight unanswered, and though ESU stopped the run at 11-4, another five-point burst for Washburn made it 15-4.  All told, WU combined for a 13-1 run with five kills from Vicory during that span.
 
Willer and Vicory each finished with 11 kills on the night, as Willer added eight digs and Vicory had three blocks.  Selk (who led the team with four blocks) and Paige Regnier each had six kills.
 
Liz Powell had another double-double at setter, finishing with 26 assists and 10 digs.  Libero Alyssa Carney had 22 digs to lead the team.
 
The Ichabods return to Lee Arena this Friday, Sept. 25 to face No. 14 Nebraska-Kearney, the first ranked opponent for WU this season.  Game time is set for 7 p.m.