TOPEKA, Kan. --- Powered by five players with double-figure kills the Washburn Ichabod volleyball team upended No. 18 Central Missouri, 3-2 (22-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-23, 15-8) on Friday night in front a raucous crowd at Lee Arena.
The Ichabods (11-5, 2-2 MIAA), which entered the match hitting .182 were precise and efficient with their attack as they posted 75 kills on 173 attempts with just 18 errors for a season-best .329 hitting percentage while holding the Jennies (12-4, 3-1 MIAA) to their season average, .243.
Allison Sadler was the catalyst for the Washburn offense as she posted a career-best 60 assists, the highest total by an Ichabod since
Natalie Bates put up 59 last season. On the end of the Sadler's assists were a bevy of options as
Genna Berg,
Makayla Maxwell,
Erica Montgomery,
Allison Maxwell and
Taylor Selk each notched double-digit kills. Berg led all Ichabods with 15 while
Makayla Maxwell and Montgomery followed with 14 apiece.
Allison Maxwell added 13 kills while Selk finished with 11.
Washburn was also strong defensively as
Faith Rottinghaus led way with a team-best 21 digs as
Lexie Longbine and
Jade Hodge followed with 12 and 11 digs respectively.
Allison Maxwell posted a career-best six blocks.
After dropping the third set to Central Missouri, 25-18, Washburn began the fourth set trailing the match 2-1. The Ichabods broke through the early back-and-forth exchange to begin the set with a 5-1 run taking a 16-13 lead, before surrendering a season-high seven unanswered points allowing UCM to emerge out front with a 20-16 advantage. Undaunated, Washburn rallied with a 9-3 run including four unanswered to take the set, 25-23 and stay a live to force a fifth.
The Ichabods opened the fifth frame slow falling behind 6-3. Washburn flipped the switch following a timeout and overwhelmed the Jennies on both sides of the net, holding them to a match-worst .083 while subsequently hitting a match-high .500. The Ichabod then grabbed control of the set with an 11-1 run thrusting themselves out front with a 14-7 lead. A late UCM point prolonged what proved to be the enivitable as
Genna Berg buried a kill to ensconce the final point, helping Washburn complete the comeback with 15-8 set victory.
Washburn opened the match strong leading for much of the first set, but a late 6-1 rally by Central Missouri allow it to steal the set, 25-22.
The Ichabods knotted the match at 1-1 after the second as they claimed an early lead and never looked back as they hit .484 for the frame to overpower UCM en route to a 25-18 set win.
In addition to winning the match and hitting percentage, Washburn also controlled most other major team statistical categories including kills (75-69), blocks (7-5) and digs (82-70).
