WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The No. 6-ranked and fifth-seeded Washburn volleyball team captured its third NCAA regional title in program history with a 3-0 triumph over No. 15 and seventh-seeded Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday evening. The Ichabods are now one of eight teams who will play in the NCAA National Championship tournament which will take place in Tampa Dec. 9-11.
 
In 2018, Washburn defeated Concordia-St. Paul in five sets to claim the Central Region title and went on to reach the national semifinal match. Washburn's first regional title came in 2007 against Truman State.
 
The Washburn quintet of Genna Berg, Allison Maxwell, Faith Rottinghaus, Allison Sadler, and Kelsey Gordon were all recognized for their performance on the court and were named to the NCAA Central Region All-Tournament team.

The Ichabods recorded their 20th sweep victory of the season and won by the set scores of 25-22, 25-20, and 25-19 to improve to 29-5 overall this year.
 
Washburn jumped out to a 5-2 lead to start the match when Concordia-St. Paul (24-9) battled back to level the score at five and then again at nine. The Ichabods broke the tie score with three-consecutive kills by three different players to go back in front, 12-9. The teams took turns scoring one at a time over the ensuing 17 points until Washburn got back-to-back points to lead, 22-18.  The Golden Bears got within one, 23-22, but kills from Stevenson and Allison Maxwell secured the opening set victory.
 
The second set saw 15 tie scores, including 13 ties by the time it got to 14-14. Berg knocked down a kill to give the Ichabods an 18-17 advantage and start a 6-0 run that included two service aces by Rottinghaus. The Ichabods held on to that lead and Sydney Fitzgibbons got the final point with a kill to make the match 2-0 in favor of Washburn.
 
The third frame started out close again as neither team led by more than two points until Washburn used a 3-0 mini run to go up, 7-4. Washburn held a 14-11 lead when Concordia-St. Paul won four-consecutive points and had three service aces. The Ichabods continued their attack and kills from Fitzgibbons and Maxwell pushed Washburn back in front, 16-15. The Golden Bears tied up the score on more time at 16-all and that was as close as they got to taking another lead. Washburn won nine of the next 12 points and a huge block from the trio of Fitzgibbons, Berg, and Gordon sealed the championship win.
 
Washburn hit .301 on the night while CSP had a .183 attacking percentage. The Ichabods landed 46 kills, 10 more kills than the Golden Bears, and also led in blocks, 11-7.
 
Maxwell finished the match with a scorching .500 hitting percentage and hammered down 14 kills with just three errors. She was also a part of eight blocks, including two solo stops. Berg landed 11 kills to go with eight digs. Kelsey Gordon contributed eight kills and four blocks.
 
Sadler recorded 39 assists and six digs. In the back court, Rottinghaus led the team with 22 digs and had two service aces.
 
The Golden Bears were led by Katie Mattson's 11 kills and five blocks.
 
The rest of the NCAA Tournament will be held in Tampa, Fla. at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center and the bracket will be announce tomorrow as the teams will be re-seeded. The quarterfinals will be played on Dec. 9 and the semifinals will take place Dec. 10. The National Championship is set for next Saturday, Dec. 11.