RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. --- Washburn volleyball split day one of the Arkansas Tech Invitational with a milestone victory over Christian Brothers before being dealt a tough loss to Harding. The Ichabods (7-3) will conclude action from Russellville, Ark., tomorrow as they face Ouachita Baptist and Alabama-Huntsville at 11 am and 3 pm, respectively.
 
#23 Washburn 3, Christian Brothers 1
Washburn stumbled to open the match falling behind early 6-1 to Christian Brothers (Tenn.) during the first set before rallying back taking as 12-11 advantage. The Buccaneers stunted the Ichabod spree with a 6-1 run to regain a lead at 17-13. Trailing 19-14, Washburn leveled the set at 19 as it strung together five unanswered points though that was the closest it came to down the stretch as CBU pushed ahead with a 3-0 spurt of its own en route to a 25-22 result.
 
Powered by a jaw-dropping .458 hitting percentage, the Ichabods cruised to a 25-11 victory in the second set. Washburn charged out to a 5-2 margin before quickly reaching a double-figure lead at 14-4. A string of four unanswered saw the Ichabods move to 21-8 en route to securing the set and tying the match at 1-1.
 
In spite of dropping the first point of the third set, the Ichabods continued their momentum as they claimed an early 6-4 lead before going on a 7-1 run and pushing the score to 12-5. Christian Brothers pulled within four midway through the frame as it tallied four straight to trail 16-12. Washburn however held off the threat of a Bucs' rally by taking the set 25-16.
 
The fourth set was dictated by spurts and short runs for both teams as the trend began with a pair of 3-0 surges as Washburn claimed an 8-4 lead early. CBU followed with four unanswered allowing it to tie the frame at eight. A six-point stretch marked the longest of the set and saw WU assume a 15-10 lead before extending its advantage to 22-15 behind a 5-0 spurt en route to a 25-17 set win.
 
As a result, Ichabods secured program's 1,000^th victory becoming just the 48th program across all NCAA divisions to do so.
 
Jade Hodge finished with a career-best 20 digs, while Allison Sadler had 43 assists. Erica Montgomery led the team with 15 kills and posted a .361 hitting percentage with 36 attempts. Genna Berg tallied eight kills, with Makayla Maxwell and Taylor Selk following with seven apiece. Collectively, the Ichabods outhit CBU, .228-.078.
 
Harding 3, #23 Washburn 2
The match opened in see-saw fashion with neither side able to maintain more than a three-point lead. Trailing 21-20, Washburn powered past Harding late to take the set 25-22 as it registered five of the final six points.
 
A slow start for the Ichabods in the second set doomed them to a 25-12 result as Harding tied the match 1-1.
 
A quick start by Harding saw it charge to an 17-12 advantage in third set. Washburn then benefitted from slew of Bison errors as it accounted for nine of the next 11 points and moved out to a 21-19 lead. Harding responded with four consecutive points regaining an advantage at 23-21 though it was short-lived as the Ichabods rattled off three straight to lead, 24-23. Momentum then swayed as the sides traded scoring rallies until Harding finally claimed the set at 29-27 and took a 2-1 match lead.
 
A 6-1 run for the Ichabods gave them an early lead and they never looked back as they took the frame, 25-17, to force a fifth set.
 
Back-and-forth action highlighted the early stages of the final set as Harding seized a 5-4 lead. The Bisons extended the margin to 7-4 until a 5-1 run gave Washburn a slim 9-8 lead. The Ichabod advantage quickly evaporated however as HU used posted five unanswered pushing the score 13-9 en route to winning the set 15-13 and the match.
 
Washburn was led by Erica Montgomery who finished was a career-best 16 kills. Genna Berg and Makayla Maxwell each tallied 13, while Maxwell posted team-highs with a .296 hitting percentage and seven blocks. Allison Sadler also had a career-performance with 47 assists. Faith Rottinghaus finished with 33 digs.