DURANGO, Colo. -- The No. 4 Washburn Ichabod volleyball team (8-0) concluded their time at the Fort Lewis-hosted Skyhawks Tournament with two more 3-0 victories on Saturday against West Texas A&M (5-1) and Adams State (3-6). 
 
The Ichabods will return home to Lee Arena next weekend and begin MIAA play. Washburn will host Fort Hays State on Friday, Sept. 20, at 6 p.m. before battling No. 11 Nebraska-Kearney on Saturday, Sept. 21. First serve against the Lopers is also scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
Washburn 3, West Texas A&M 0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-14)
 
The match started with both teams exchanging points until West Texas A&M broke the 5-5 tie and went on a four point scoring rally. The Ichabods continued to battle their way back into the match and a key block by Kelsey Gordon and Erica Montgomery knotted the match at 14-all. The two teams took turns recording kills as they tied at 15, 16, 17, 18 and 21 before Genna Berg started and completed a 5-1 scoring run to win the opening set 25-22.
 
The second set was also a close fight as there were seven ties throughout the set. After Washburn scored the opening point, the Lady Buffs answered with three straight. Washburn responded with three points in a row of its own with kills from Allison Maxwell and Taylor Antonowich and benefited from a WTAM attacking error to make the score 4-3. Although the score was tied several times, Washburn never trailed again in the set. Maxwell came in clutch again with a kill that broke an 18-18 tie and a service ace from Alaina Dunlavy gave the Ichabods a 20-18 advantage. Washburn clinched their second 25-22 set win after a service error from West Texas A&M.
 
West Texas A&M scored the first two points of the third set and were tied with Washburn at 5-5 before the Ichabods put together an impressive 11-1 scoring run to go in front 16-6. Washburn continued its momentum in the set and captured a 25-14 set victory on Antonowich's final kill.
 
The Ichabods hit .394 in the third frame and finished with a .305 team attacking average after the three sets while the Lady Buffs finished at .200.
 
Three Ichabods finished with double-digit kills. Kelsey Gordon and Genna Berg led the team with a dozen kills each while Berg added a double-double to her stat line with a team-high 10 digs. Allison Maxwell had 10 kills on 16 attempts with three errors for a .438 hitting percentage. Allison Sadler dished out 40 assists and one of the Ichabods' two solo blocks with Maxwell recording the other.
 
Washburn 3, Adams State 0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-17)

Washburn scored the first point of the match with a kill from Antonowich, but trailed for the majority of the set. The Ichabods tied the match at 11 and 12, but errors plagued Washburn and fell behind again by as much as five points (21-16). A kill from Allison Maxwell ignited an Ichabod comeback at 21-17. It was Kelsey Gordon next who landed a kill to cut the Grizzlies' lead to 21-18. Adams State recorded one final kill in the match before Washburn took over and finished the set with a 7-0 scoring run. Berg had three consecutive kills and Washburn benefited from four Adams State errors to grab the 25-22 victory. 
 

The errors continued into the second set for the Grizzlies as they committed four more in a row to give the Ichabods an early 5-3 lead. Back and forth scoring led to tie scores at 6, 7, and 8 but Washburn never trailed after losing the first point. The Ichabods scored the last six points and capped off the 25-17 set win with an Allison Sadler service ace.
 

In the third set, Washburn grabbed a quick 5-1 advantage, but the Grizzlies responded and tied the game at 7-7. Washburn continued to hold a lead of three points or fewer until an Adams State error gave the Ichabods a 20-16 lead. A service ace from Syden Pullen, two kills from Berg, and a Grizzlies error finished out the 25-17 Washburn win and the seventh 3-0 shutout victory of the season.

Berg led the team again in kills as she registered 11 and was one dig shy of achieving her second double-double of the day and finished with nine digs. Maxwell had 10 kills and had four total blocks, including one solo. Gordon finished the match with five blocks, one of which was a solo block, and six kills. Sadler surpassed 1,400 career assists as she added 37 to her total to sit at 1,429. Defense specialist Faith Rottinghaus recorded a rare kill and chipped in 22 digs.