TOPEKA, Kan. --- A pair of victories on the final day of the Washburn Invitational presented by Topeka Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center allowed the No. 16 Washburn volleyball to close the opening weekend in winning fashion to move to 3-1 on the year. The Ichabods return invitational play next weekend as they go to Rolla, Mo., to participate in the Missouri S&T Middle of Everywhere Classic.
 
#16 Washburn 3, Western State Colorado 0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-12)
Washburn used a 5-2 run to open the match and continue to overwhelm Western State (0-4) by widening the margin to 23-7 before winning the first set 25-8.
 
The Ichabods found their hitting lanes as they posted a whopping .571 hitting percentage as they registered 14 kills on 21 attempts with just two errors, while the Mountaineers were held to -.040 hitting with six kills and seven errors on 25 attempts.
 
Washburn's offense cooled in the last two sets as it hit .040 in the second and .150 in the third. In spite of the drop, the Ichabods continued to dominate as Makayla Maxwell averaged four kills per set to finish with a career-best 12 and a .588 hit percentage.
 
In the second set, WU grabbed a 6-3 lead before climbing to a nine-point cushion, its largest of the frame, at 16-7. Western State tried to chip away margin but it was not enough as the Ichabods scored four of the last five points to win 25-16.
 
Washburn errors to start the third set afforded Western State with its first leads of the match it took a 1-0 and 3-2 advantages. The Ichabods then tallied four unanswered points to take a 6-3 lead and never looked back. A 6-0 run late saw Washburn take a double-figure lead at 21-10 before continue to push on to a 25-12 result to secure the match victory.
 
Genna Berg finished with six kills, while Erica Montgomery had four and Allison Maxwell finished with three. Faith Rottinghaus had a team-high 11 digs. Collectively, Washburn outhit the Mountaineers, .242 to -.012 while also beating them out in service aces, 10-1. The Ichabods opened the match by starting five freshmen for the first time in the Chris Herron era.
 
#16 Washburn 3, Missouri-St. Louis 2 (25-21, 17-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-12)
In their final match the Ichabods were pushed to the brink as they went the distance to defeat Missouri-St. Louis (3-1).
 
Washburn opened the fourth set trailing 2-1. The frame opened in back-in-forth fashion with neither side able to build much more than a three-point margin until a late 5-1 spurt saw the Ichabods take a 22-18 advantage. The Tritons tried to stave off a fifth set but failed as Washburn was able to force a fifth frame with a 25-12 set win.
 
In the fifth, Washburn opened the run to 15 with a three-point run, but quickly it disappeared as UMSL tied the set at 5-5. With the score knotted 7-7, Washburn inched closer to the finish line as a 5-2 run gave the Ichabods a 12-9 advantage. UMSL answered back by giving the match its 31st and final tie at 12-12. Washburn remained posed however and registered the final three points capped by the game-winning block from Makayla Maxwell and Erica Montgomery.
 
WU started the match a slow as it fell behind 9-3 early. The Ichabods tried to close the margin but UMSL was able keep at least a two-point advantage and push score to 17-15. Consecutive kills from Montgomery, Olivia Powell and Kelsey Gordon nudged WU out front, 18-17. Ichabods then closed out the set by rattling seven of the next 10 points to claim a 25-20 set win.
 
UMSL tied the match by winning the second set after it outscored WU 10-3 to claim a 25-17 result. The Tritons then took a 2-1 match lead with a 25-20 third set victory as it held off the Ichabods' late push.
 
For the match, UMSL outhit the Ichabods, .126 to .080. The Tritons recorded 60 kills to Washburn's 44 but trailed WU in service aces, 7-4. Kelsey Gordon and Erica Montgomery had 12 and 11 kills, respectively. Allison Sadler had a team-best 18 assists, while Faith Rottinghaus had a game-high 21 digs.