TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 3 Washburn Volleyball team was handed their first loss of the season as the No. 6 Nebraska-Kearney Lopers swept the Ichabods at home Saturday night. The Ichabods have a quick turnaround as they head to Emporia on Tuesday, Sept. 24, to take on the Hornets. The match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. first serve.

Washburn (9-1, 1-1 MIAA) took a quick 8-2 lead to start the match, with the first four Ichabod kills recorded by Allison Maxwell. A kill by Allison Sadler pushed the Ichabods' lead to 16-12, but the Lopers (11-0, 2-0 MIAA) captured the next five points with a kill and four Washburn errors. Genna Berg landed a kill to tie the match at 17-all, but Nebraska-Kearney won eight of the last 10 points of the game to seal the 25-19 first set victory.

The second set started as a battle with both teams exchanging turns scoring points. After the Ichabods scored two in a row to even the score at 12-12, the Lopers went on to take the next four consecutive points and never relinquished their lead in the set, eventually winning again by the score of 25-19.

The third frame started much like the second set, with both teams jockeying for a lead. The teams tied at each point to start the match until Nebraska-Kearney broke the 6-6 tie with a three point scoring run. A big block by Kelsey Gordon and Maxwell got the Ichabods within one (11-10), but the Lopers responded with two kills and a service ace. Nebraska-Kearney was able to hold of Washburn's efforts and clinch the match sweep with a 25-20 final set victory.

Nebraska-Kearney finished the match with a .276 hitting percentage while Washburn was held to .120 percentage.

Maxwell led the team with 11 kills. Gordon had a team-high three blocks and chipped in six kills. Sadler dished out 30 assists while Faith Rottinghaus registered 19 digs.