KEARNEY, Neb. --- The Washburn volleyball team fell short Saturday as it was downed 3-1 (19-25, 27-29, 25-19, 18-25) by Nebraska-Kearney in the MIAA Championship match at the Health and Sports Center in Kearney, Neb.

Washburn (28-6) will now await its fate with the NCAA Tournament as it started the week as the seventh rated team in the NCAA's Central Region.

Leanna Willer tallied her third-highest kill total of the season and led all players with 23 kills. Kelsey Barrick and Megan Pedersen followed with eight apiece, while Sarah Vicory had seven. Vicory also had a match-best nine blocks. Natalie Bates and Shayla Connor each distributed 24 assists. Alyssa Carney had a team-best 21 digs.

After dropping the first two sets 25-19 and 29-27 to fall into 0-2 hole, Washburn opened the third frame with 5-0 run and never looked back. The Ichabods eventually enjoyed its largest lead of the match at 20-13 before taking the frame 25-19 and evading the sweep.

After trading rallies early in the fourth to an 11-11 tie Nebraska-Kearney (35-1) took control of the set with a 9-2 run to make en route to winning the point and match.

Collectively, the Ichabods hit .126 for the match with its best hitting set coming in the third with a mark of .196.

Washburn will learn its fate and next opponent on Monday when the NCAA announces the participants for the regional tournament.