TOPEKA, Kan. --- Washburn volleyball closed out the final day of the Washburn Invitational presented by Topeka Capitol Plaza Hotel with two more victories as it defeated Colorado-Colorado Springs, 3-1, before picking up its third 3-0 sweep of the year against Southeastern Oklahoma. With the four weekend victories, the Ichabods move to 43-1 all-time in the history of the invitational. Washburn will continue non-conference action next weekend when it takes part in the SOSU Invitational in Durant, Okla.

The Ichabod form collectively dipped a bit offensively as they hit a combined .268 for both matches. Despite the small slip, the Washburn attack still outpaced its opponents, 97-71 on the final day of action in addition to recording 15 service aces, while UCCS and SOSU combined for six.
 
Individually, Erica Montgomery made her presence felt as she led the team in kills in both matches with 15 against UCCS before tying Genna Berg with six in the finale. Faith Rottinghaus meanwhile controlled the backline as she notched 32 digs and aided the offense totaling five aces on the day.
 
As a result of their respective performances following the weekend, Montgomery, Allison Maxwell and Shayla Conner were each named to the all-tournament team, while Northwest Missouri's Maddy Bruder garnered MVP honors.
 
Washburn 3, UCCS 1 (25-21, 25-19, 20-25, 25-10)
After rolling past their opponents in day one, the Ichabods picked up from where they left off as they quickly pieced together an 8-3 advantage during the opening set. The margin however quickly evaporated as the Mountain Lions roared back with an 8-2 run of their own to lead 11-10. See-saw action during the next seven points saw the sides level at 14-all, before a 3-0 spurt nudged WU out front and it never let go as it won 25-21.
 
After hitting .292 in the first set, the Washburn hitting percent dropped to .262 in the second. Any early WU lead to start was quickly overcome by UCCS as it took a 7-3 lead and forced the Ichabods to regroup with a timeout. The Ichabods chipped away at the deficit but continued to trail 14-8. A second timeout resulted in a refocused WU lineup which rallied to regain the lead thanks to a 9-2 run. From there on, the Ichabods remained in the driver's seat as they brought home the set point by accounting for six of the final seven points, including five unanswered, to take a 2-0 match lead.
 
Tying a match-high with five errors in a set, Washburn hit sub-.200 as a team for the first and only time all weekend. After another early was overtaken by UCCS, WU battled to keep step with the Mountain Lions until they rattled off a 5-0 spurt to pull away at 18-11 en route winning, 25-20.
 
In the fourth, the Ichabods bounced back as they hit .522, their best mark of a single-set thus far in the season, as they registered 13 kills, one error on 23 swings. Montgomery, who finished with 15 kills, lead the charge by burying four including one during a late 7-1 run that saw Washburn push its margin to 23-9 before eventually secured the match with a 25-10 tally.
 
Washburn 3, SE Oklahoma 0 (25-16, 25-13, 26-24)
The Ichabod defense stunted the Savage Storm early and often forcing SOSU into a combined 20 attack errors during the opening two frames, while WU hit .243 in the first and .286 in the second to take a commanding 2-0 match lead.
 
Back-and-forth action in the third set saw neither side able to firmly grasp control of the match. With the Ichabods leading 16-14, Southeastern Oklahoma pulled head 20-16 as it stuck for six unanswered points. A kill by Montgomery trimmed the WU deficit to 23-21 but was immediately followed by SOSU block putting them within reach of claiming the set point.
 
However instead of surrendering the point, the Ichabods showed some resolve and began to punch back as a kill from Montgomery narrowed the SOSU advantage to 24-22. Makayla Maxwell then stepped up and made her presence felt beginning with an assisted block and two heavy-handed swings which resulted in back-to-back kills giving Washburn a 25-24 lead before benefitting from another SOSU error to complete the late rally and secured the set, 26-24, and match.