DURANT, Okla. --- Washburn volleyball continued to its success on the second day of the South Central Classic held in Durant, Okla., as the Ichabods improved to 8-0 on the year with a 3-1 victory over New Mexico Highlands, before sweeping Southern Nazarene in three-straight sets. Washburn will conclude non-conference play next weekend when it travels to Lubbock, Texas for the Chaps Classic.

Genna Berg paced the Ichabod attack as she finished with 33 total kills and hit a team-best .342, while adding 12 digs and six blocks. Erica Montgomery followed with 19 kills, while Taylor Antonowich and Allison Maxwell registered 15 and 14 kills respectively. Shayla Conner distributed 66 assists with 26 digs. Faith Rottinghaus led the dig effort as she recorded 34 between both matches.

As a team the WU hitting percentage was not as robust as it had been a day earlier, though was still plenty potent as the Ichabods out hit their opponents by a combined .218 to .118. Washburn finished the day with 14 aces and was led by Katie Heeter as she finished with five. 

Washburn 3, New Mexico Highlands 1 // 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-14
The Ichabod offense ebbed and flowed in their day two opener as they recorded sub-.200 hitting percentages in the first and third sets, while surpassing the .325 hitting mark during sets two and four. Washburn finished the match hitting .222 with 61 kills on 158 attempts with 26 errors.

Consecutive points and mini run early saw Washburn run out to a 7-2 advantage to open. New Mexico Highlands then chipped away at the margin and on several occasions pulled within one but were unable to level the score. Late in the frame however, with WU leading 18-15, the Cowgirls finally overtook the lead as a 5-0 run pushed them outfront where they stayed as NMHU won the opening stanza, 25-22.

Washburn hit a season-low .062 during the first set with 11 attack errors, before bouncing back in the second to hit .481 while trimming down its error to just three.

Trailing 7-5 in the second set, Washburn took its first lead of the frame as a result of a 4-0 run with a trio of kills from Berg to front the charge. NMHU however answered back with a 5-1 run to claim a 13-10 lead. The Ichabods though wasted little time pushing back as they responded with a 6-3 run, tying the set at 16. After back-and-forth action yielded two ties and a lead charge, the sides were deadlocked at 18, before WU took control with a 5-0 run and never looked back. A late push by NMHU threaten the advantage but the Ichabod lead, but a kill by Kelsey Gordon secured the set point, 25-22, as they tied the match at 1-1.

After five ties during the opening 12 points of the third stanza, Washburn went on a 4-1 run and rose to a 10-7 lead. The Ichabods then maintained a three to four-point advanatage as they slowly pushed the score to 18-14. A pair of NMHU scores though cut the lead to two, before three-consecutive New Mexico Highland miscues helped WU to a 4-0 run and widen the gap to six. Leading 22-16, the sides flip-flopped scores till a Makayla Maxwell kill made it 25-19, giving the Ichabods a 2-1 match lead.

The Ichabods hit .136 in the third with eight attack miscues, but again regained their efficient form in the fourth as they hit .333 and cut their attack errors in half.

Tied at seven, the Ichabods tallied five unaswered points moving out to a 12-7 lead, before a subsequent 5-0 run allowed them to quickly bump the frame to 17-9. From then on Washburn maintained a comfortable cushion as it eventually assumed a double-digit margin en route to a 25-14 set win to complete the comeback.

Washburn 3, Southern Nazarene 0 // 25-15, 25-21, 25-21 
Despite collecting its sixth sweep of the season, Washburn's match with the Crimson Storm was one of the most back-and-forth of the weekend as it featured 21 ties and eight lead changes. 

During the first and third set, the Ichabods were held to sub-.200 hitting along with a match-best .367 during the second which allowed them to post a .214 mark for the match, while the defense held SNU to .098 overall.

A 7-2 Washburn lead to open the match was quickly erased with a 6-1 run by the Crimson Storm leveling the first set at eight. After a tick-tock exchange pushed the score to 11-all, the Ichabods sprinted past SNU thanks to a 10-1 rally. A short 3-0 burst from Southern Nazarene late did little to disrupt the Ichabod confidence as their closed out the frame, 25-16.

In the second set, the Crimson Storm claimed a 8-4 advantage early thanks in part to a 6-1 run, forcing an Ichabod timeout. Washburn then battled back to assume a 13-11 lead which was highlighted by a 5-0 run that included a pair of kills from Berg. More back-and-forth action led to another SNU advantage at 17-16. An Antonowich kill then sparked a 4-0 spurt as WU moved out front, 20-17, and never looked back as it took the set, 25-21, and a 2-0 match lead.

Tied at 11, Washburn made the most of consecutive Crimson Storm attack errors along as Antonowich added a kill which nudged the Ichabods to a 14-11 margin. SNU twice trimmed the WU lead to one but was unable complete the rally as the Ichabods completed the sweep.