TOPEKA, Kan. -- The No. 1-ranked Ichabods rolled to a 3-0 victory over No. 15 Nebraska-Kearney on Tuesday evening to sweep the regular season series against the Lopers. Washburn has now won nine matches in a row and has defeated five teams ranked in the top-20 this season.

Tonight marks the second time in program history that Washburn has swept Nebraska-Kearney. The last 3-0 victory against the Lopers was in Lee Arena on Sept. 25, 2015. This is also the third time in head coach Chris Herron's tenure that Washburn has recorded back-to-back wins over Nebraska-Kearney as Washburn won two in a row during the 2013 season and then in 2018.
 
All three sets ended with the final score of 25-22 as Washburn improved to 17-1 (9-0 MIAA).
 
Washburn got off to a slow start as Nebraska-Kearney (13-5, 4-5 MIAA) won the first four points of the match. The Lopers led 15-12 when a kill by Kelsey Gordon ignited a 6-0 scoring run in which she recorded three kills and had a block to give Washburn its first lead of the match at 18-15.  The Lopers battled back and evened the score at 19 when Gordon started another scoring run to get Washburn to game point, 24-19. Although Nebraska-Kearney won the next three points to pull within two, Allison Maxwell put the set away with a kill.
 
It was the Ichabods who jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second frame after three-straight errors committed by the Lopers. Nebraska-Kearney continued to fight and knotted up the score at four and then seven before taking an 8-7 advantage. Washburn responded with a 4-0 mini run to go back in front and did not give up the lead again. The Ichabods led by as many as five in the set before Genna Berg's kill sent Washburn to the third leading 2-0.
 
The start of the third set was back-and-forth scoring as the teams jockeyed for the lead. The Lopers led 3-1 before falling behind and then coming back to tie the score at four, five, and six. Gordon came through again with a timely kill to start a 4-0 run to give the Ichabods a 10-6 edge. Washburn put together a 5-2 run in the middle of the frame with four kills to extend its lead to 16-10. The Lopers didn't go down without another fight, but they couldn't get any closer than a two point deficit and Berg's fourth kill of the set secured the sweep.
 
Washburn held Nebraska-Kearney to its second-lowest hitting percentage of the season at .138 after holding the Lopers to a .134 clip back in September. The Ichabods finished the match hitting .277 and led in kills, 46-38.
 
Washburn's middle hitters led the Ichabods offensively recording 31 of Washburn's 46 kills. Maxwell finished with 12 kills and Fitzgibbons hit .556 with 10 kills. Gordon knocked down nine kills on 14 attempts with one error for a blistering .571 attacking percentage.
 
Allison Sadler recorded 39 assists to go with her nine digs and a service ace. Libero Faith Rottinghaus continued her strong defense with 22 digs.
 
For the Lopers, Anna Squiers and Emersen Cyza both finished with nine kills and combined for four blocks.
 
Washburn travels to the Show Me State this weekend to take on antoher top-ranked team in No. 9 Northwest Missouri and Missouri Western on Oct. 15-16.