MARYVILLE, Mo. -- An all-around team effort by the third-ranked Washburn volleyball team evening gave the Ichabods their 10th-straight win with a sweep at 19th-ranked Northwest Missouri State on Friday evening. With the victory, the Ichabods move up to 25-2 (17-2 MIAA) on the season while the Bearcats drop to 19-8 (12-7 MIAA).

Washburn won by the set scores of 25-20, 25-15, and 27-25 and has now won the past six-straight matches by 3-0 decisions. The Ichabods hit .213 in the match while the Bearcats finished with a .109 attacking percentage. WU led in kills, 48-34, and in digs, 64-55.

Genna Berg got the Ichabods going in the first set with six kills on 10 attempts with just one error. With the Bearcats holding a 4-3 lead, Berg sparked a 5-0 scoring run in which she contributed three kills. Northwest Missouri State won four-consecutive points in the middle of the set to take a one point lead at 14-13, but Berg's timely hitting came into play again as she landed three more kills in a 5-1 run to reclaim the lead. Washburn held on to the lead and scored the final three points of the 25-20 win capped off by back-to-back kills by Erica Montgomery.

It was nip-and-tuck to start the second set as there six lead changes and a tied score at every point leading up to the Bearcats breaking the 9-9 tie with two-straight points. The Ichabods stayed close and evened the score at 12, 13, and 15 and then went on a scoring tear. Montgomery knocked down the kill to tie it up at 15-all and ignited an incredible 11-0 scoring run to win set two. The Bearcats committed four-straight errors during the run while the Ichabods made three blocks and had three kills from Montgomery and one from Allison Sadler. 

The third set started out very similar to the second set as the Bearcats won the opening point and the score was either tied or neither team had a lead of more than two points. There were 17 total ties in the set and Washburn didn't take its first lead until 13-12. Northwest Missouri State retook the lead at 20-19, only for Washburn to go back in front, 22-20, with a three point burst. The Bearcats put together a 4-1 scoring run to sit at set point (24-23), but a huge kill from Kelsey Gordon spoiled their rally. Northwest Missouri won the next point on a solo block to reach set point yet again (25-24). Gordon came through with another kill to knot up the score and then an assisted block from Allison Maxwell and Sadler gave the Ichabods the one point lead. On the next play, Montgomery completed the comeback set win with her 10th kill of the night.

Berg registered her 12th double-double of the season as she finished with a dozen kills and 17 digs. Gordon finished with a .333 attacking percentage and had 11 kills. Sadler dished out 38 assists and snuck over four kills and was one dig shy of adding a double-double to her stat line. Montgomery contributed 10 kills and Maxwell finished with six and made five total blocks at the net. Faith Rottinghaus tied for a team-high 17 digs and Sydney Pullen made eight digs.
 
The Ichabods will play the regular season finale tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 16) afternoon in Warrensburg, Mo., at No. 10 Central Missouri with a first serve set for 2 p.m. The Jennies are 21-7 (15-4 MIAA) after defeating Emporia State earlier Friday night.