Box Score FORT HAYS, Kan. --- Powered by a balanced attack the 18^th-ranked Washburn volleyball team concluded its MIAA weekend road trip on Saturday with a 3-1 victory over Fort Hays State.

With the result, the Ichabods improve to 11-4 on the season and 2-1 in conferene play.
 
Senior Leanne Willer finished with a team-best 14 kills while classmate Sarah Vicory tallied 13 kills and a .278 hitting percentage. Senior Alyssa Carney and freshman Megan Pedersen also made notable contributions to the WU attack as Carney posted 28 digs as Pedersen tallied seven kills, 14 assists and a .294 hitting percentage.
 
After jostling for position early and battling to an 8-8 tie, Washburn took control of the first set with a 9-2 run to push the score to 17-10. Even after a Tigers' timeout, the Ichabods maintained momentum as they opened the gap to as much as eight en route to taking the first point by the score of 25-16.
 
WU kept the pace up in the second frame as it jumped to an early 7-3 lead before pushing the gap to as much as 10. With the Ichabods out front 23-13 Fort Hays (13-2,1-2) began to chip away at the advantage spurred on by back-to-back kills. Feeling the momentum started to switch sides Washburn called a timeout to regroup.
 
Out of the huddle, Fort Hays scored twice more before Willer interrupted the Tigers' 6-0 run to make it 24-19. Another FHSU scoring spurt sliced the once double-digit advantage to 24-22 before Washburn escaped the set due to a Fort Hays attack error.
 
After dropping the third set 25-21, the Ichabods began the fourth trailing 6-2. Back-to-back errors by Fort Hays combined with two of Willer's four aces on the day allowed Washburn to move out front where it remained en route to a 25-19 tally.
 
Washburn will resume action on Friday, September 30 when it plays host to Southwest Baptist with first serve scheduled for 7 p.m.