PITTSBURG, Kan. --- Washburn volleyball climbed to 18-12 on year and 8-9 in conference action as it downed Pittsburg State, 3-1 (25-16, 25-23, 24-26, 25-11) on Thursday evening completing the season sweep.

Washburn outhit the Gorillas (7-23, 3-14 MIAA), .168 to .092, as it landed 47 kills on 184 attacks with 16 errors. Pittsburg State meanwhile landed two more kills on 184 swings, while conceding twice as many errors. 

The Ichabods opened the match with a kill from Genna Berg but watching Pitt State rattle off three straight taking a 3-1 lead. Down 9-5, Washburn responded with on a 13-4 run to put itself up, 18-13. During the rally, eight Gorilla errors helped fuel the run while Berg and Olivia Powell added kills while Taylor Selk was part of three assisted blocks. Washburn closed out the set by accounting for six of the final nine points, taking the first set, 25-16. Berg led all players with five kills.

A sluggish start in the second allowed the Gorillas to roll past Washburn with a 5-2 spurt. The Ichabods continued to trail until a 3-0 spurt tied the frame at 12-12. Possession bounced back-and-forth as the sides traded scoring rallies pushing the score to 14-14 until back-to-back kills from the Gorillas saw them assume a 16-14 lead. 

Trailing 20-18 late, Washburn come out of its timeout and began punching back as Allison Sadler fed Makayla Maxwell for one of her nine kills on the night. The Gorillas dodged the Washburn advances as they managed to widen their lead to three, 23-20, and inch closer to tying the match. The Washburn defense however slammed the door on the Gorillas' plans, forcing them into four attacking errors as part of a setting winning 5-0 run. During the run, Maxwell's contributions proved to be instrumental as the junior recorded a solo and assisted block, helping the Ichabods win the set 25-23.  

Washburn wasted little time put together a lead in the third as quickly doubled up on Pittsburg State, 14-7. The Gorillas then used a favorable 9-6 run to trim the Ichabod margin to four before a trio of kills narrowed the Ichabod advantage to 21-20. Washburn nudged closing to completing the sweep with a 3-1 spurt but were turned away by its own miscues as surrendered three of the final five Pittsburg State via errors allowing PSU to a claim the set, 26-24.

Washburn dominated the fourth early and often by steam rolling out to a 15-4 lead before Berg then landed her 16th kill of the evening to give Washburn a double-digit margin at 19-9. Back-to-back blocks by Maxwell pushed her match total to seven while the Ichabods a 23-9 lead late, before tacking on a kill and handing Washburn the match with a 25-11 set win.

Berg finished with a match-best in kills while tallying a career-best 19 digs earning her third career double-double. Shayla Conner also registered 19 digs, while Faith Rottinghaus and Allison Sadler each finished with 17. Sadler picked her team-best 11th double-double of the season as she distributed 31 assists. Taylor Selk and Allison Maxwell each had seven blocks, with Maxwell adding eight kills.

Washburn closes out the regular season on Friday when it travels to nationally-ranked Central Oklahoma. First serve is slated for 6 pm.