TOPEKA, Kan. -- No. 14 Washburn swept South Dakota Mines, 3-0, to start its 2015 campaign and closed day one of the Washburn Invitational with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Augustana on Friday evening, Sept. 4

WU (2-0) remains undefeated all-time in the Washburn Invitational, improving to 29-0.  Day two of the event begins on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 9 a.m., and the Ichabods will take on Black Hills State (11:30 a.m.) and Drury (3:30 p.m.) tomorrow.

Recaps of Friday's action are below...

No. 14 Washburn 3, South Dakota Mines 0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-16)
Washburn won its 18th consecutive season opener by overcoming a slow start in the first set. Down eight (18-10) just past the midway point of the first set, a kill from Carley Swan sparked an 11-1 run for the Ichabods and gave WU the lead for the first time on the day.  Leanna Willer had a kill and two service aces in the run.  Though the Hardrockers rallied to come back within one, 24-23, a service error sealed the set one win for Washburn. Swan was strong in the first set for WU, finishing with four blocks and a .500 hitting percentage.

Tied at 4-all in the second, a five-point burst for WU was the opening portion of an 8-1 rally that gave the Ichabods their largest lead of the set, 12-5. SD Mines cut the deficit to two (16-14) soon after, but Washburn regained control,19-15, after two Hardrocker errors and a kill from Korie Thompson.  Washburn stretched the advantage back to six, 25-19, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.  Willer played strong in the second set, adding four kills and seven digs in the frame.

The Ichabods never trailed in the third set, leading 6-5 before a string of seven unanswered (including two kills from Sarah Vicory) put WU ahead, 14-7.  Washburn's largest lead of the night (nine) came at 22-13 and 24-15, just before a block from Vicory and Kelsey Barrick gave the Ichabods the final set, 25-16.

For the match, Vicory and Willer had six kills apiece, while Thompson, Swan and Taylor Selk finished with five, individually.  Willer added 11 digs, tied for second with Liz Powell on the night behind libero Alyssa Carney's 15 digs.  Powell led the team with 13 assists, just ahead of Shayla Conner, who had 11. 

At the net, Vicory paced the squad with three blocks and Swan added two (one solo).

No. 14 Washburn 3, Augustana 2 (17-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 15-10) 
Trailing 2-0 and facing a early end to the night, Washburn roared back with three straight set wins for a 3-2 comeback victory in the day's finale.

The Ichabods again struggled early, falling 25-17 in the first set.  Tied at 6-all in the, an 8-0 Viking run put the game out of reach, despite a late 5-1 run by WU.  In the second, Washburn again never led, but stayed within striking distance throughout, cutting the lead to one near set point (24-23). That rally fell just short, however, 25-23.

WU began its comeback in the third thanks to strong performances offensively from Leanna Willer (six kill in the set) and Sarah Vicory (five kills in the set and a .500 hitting percentage).  The set began with a 5-0 run by the Ichabods, and though Augustana came back to within one (9-8), WU stayed in control and kept the Vikings at bay.  Up 23-20, two kills from Vicory in the final four sets sealed the win.

Washburn forced a decisive fifth set with another narrow victory in the fourth, 25-23.  Up early (4-1), the Ichabods were forced to battle for their final 15 points of the set when Augie tied it, 10-10.  At 13-all, an Augustana hitting error helped WU reclaim the lead for good, stretching it as far as four (22-18) late in the set.

The comeback was completed in the fifth when Washburn took advantage of a mid-set run and clinched the match, 15-10. Leading by one (6-5) early on, a service error from the Vikings helped spark WU on a 3-0 run that gave them breathing room for the rest of the night.  Though AU climbed back to one (11-10), Washburn ended the night on a 4-1 run for the win.  

Willer had four kills in the final set as part of her 19 for the night, adding 11 digs for a double-double.  Vicory had 12 digs and eight blocks (two solo), while Taylor Selk just missed double digits in kills and finished with nine while adding four blocks.  Liz Powell put together a double-double of 36 assists and 15 digs, third on the team in digs behind Alyssa Carney (17) and Korie Thompson (19).