TOPEKA, Kan. --- The ninth-ranked Washburn Ichabod volleyball posted a season-high 67 kills while holding off Missouri Western in a 3-1 (25-9, 25-22, 28-30, 25-20) victory at Lee Arena. In doing so, the Ichabods improved to 22-0 on the year and earned their 10-straight win in the MIAA play. 

Collectively, Washburn finished with a 19-kill advantage as it out hit the Griffons, .219 to .116, with three Ichabods notching double-figure kills. The Washburn defense meanwhile finished with 106 digs, 20 more than than Missouri Western (12-11, 4-6 MIAA), while MWSU edged out WU in the blocks, 12-9.

Allison Maxwell led the Ichabod attack with a 24-kill effort. In addition to tallying a career-best in kills, Maxwell also notched a career-high 44 swings as she finished with a .432 hitting mark. 

Also posting notable performances were Genna Berg, Taylor Antonowich and Shayla Conner as each registered a double-double. Berg had 14 kills, 20 digs, while Antonowich with 10 and 10. Conner meanwhile distributed a match-high 46 assists and 20 digs. Libero Faith Rottinghaus quietly did the yeoman's work on the Ichabod back line finishing with 33, tying a career-high.

Set 1: Tied at 2-2 early, the Ichabods overpowered Missouri Western with a 5-0 run as they collected kills from Maxwell and Berg. Following a 2-1 exchange in favor of MWSU, Washburn stretched its advantage to eight behind kills from Berg, Antonowich and Rottinghaus as part a 4-0 run, pushing the score to 12-4. From there, the Ichabods cruised to a 25-9 set win, marking the first time in nearly a year that WU held an opponent to under 10 points in a set. The time it was done was Oct. 13, 2017 when the Ichabods held Southwest Baptist to nine in the opening set.

Set 2: Back-and-forth action early saw Washburn cling narrow 7-5 lead. Consecutive assisted blocks from Berg and Maxwell highlighted a 3-0 spurt as the Ichabods slowly expanded their lead to 13-8. The Griffons however continued to lingered as they used back-to-back points to stay within a two to three-point margin until a 3-0 allowed them knot the frame at 19. Washburn however never fell behind as 3-1 run nudged it to a 22-20 lead, before a kill and ace by Berg helped WU take the set, 25-22, and a 2-0 match lead.    

Set 3: Nip-and-tuck for the entire frame the sides battled to 14 ties and eight lead changes. WU inched out a 10-8 lead thanks in part to a 3-0 spurt as Maxwell helped with a back-to-back kills. The advantage though was short-lived as MWSU answered back with a 6-1 rally to step out to a 14-11 lead. With WU trailing 24-20, the Ichabods continued to punch back with kills from Berg, Maxwell while Antonowich tallied a blocks and kill to force a tie at 24. The sides continued to trade scoring possessions until back-to-back points gave WU a 28-27 lead. The effort though fell short as MWSU closed out the set on a 3-0 run to force a fourth set.

Set 4: Following an early 3-0 spurt the Ichabods never trailed as it took a 3-1 lead. The Griffons however continued to pester Washburn as they forced ties at 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5. The Ichabods though broke free with a  4-1 run as it gained some breathing room with a 9-6 lead. A pair of MWSU errors and a kill from Maxwell helped WU cause as it built a four-point at 12-8. Leading 15-13, Washburn assumed its largest lead of the set as Kelsey Gordon notched a pair kills as part of 4-1 rally. Washburn ultimately saw the match through as Berg landed the final strike to seal a 25-20 decision, giving Washburn a 3-1 victory.

Up next: Washburn will return to Lee Arena tomorrow as it hosts Northwest Missouri on homecoming Saturday. First serve is slated for 6 pm.