TOPEKA, Kan. – No. 8 Washburn volleyball improved to 5-0 at the end of the opening week as the Ichabods captured wins over Minot State and No. 15 Northern State on Saturday to close out the Washburn Invitational. Washburn senior Genna Berg was named the all-tournament Most Valuable Player and Allison Maxwell, Faith Rottinghaus, and Kelsey Gordon were named to the all-tournament team.
 
GAME 1 (WU 3-MSU 0) 
 The Ichabods jumped out to a 7-3 advantage in the first after back-to-back kills by Genna Berg and Madison Johnson. The two teams traded points until Washburn put together a 7-1 to extend its lead to 18-9. Holding a 20-11 lead, Johnson hammered down another kill to start a run of five consecutive points to close the first game win. 
 
The second set was a series of scoring runs for Washburn. Minot State landed the first point of the match and the score went back-and-forth before the Ichabods rattled off four points to take a 6-3 lead. Allison Maxwell hammered down three kills during another four-point burst to put Washburn in front, 12-6. Another kill from Maxwell sparked a 6-0 run that included two service aces from Faith Rottinghaus. The Ichabods won 11 of the final 13 points to claim the 25-10 decision. 
 
Early in the third, Washburn broke a three-all tie on a kill from Berg and then she recorded two service aces in a row to give the Ichabods a lead they would keep for the remainder of the match. Washburn won the final five points with four kills to seal the sweep with a 25-11 win. 
 
Washburn held its third opponent to a negative hitting percentage as Minot State finished -.015 while the Ichabods hit a scorching .512. The Ichabods recorded 47 kills to Minot State's 13. WU also landed seven service aces compared to MSU's one. 
 
Berg finished with a team-high 12 kills followed closely by Maxwell with 10 as both players committed just one error and hit above .600 percent in the match. Allison Sadler recorded 13 assists and Payton Nutter made her first start as an Ichabod and dished out nine assists. Rottinghaus led the team with 10 digs and four service aces. 
 
GAME 2 (WU 3-NSU 1) 
In a top-15 showdown between regional foes, Washburn set the tone early and grabbed a 10-2 lead. The Ichabods stayed in control and won the opening set 25-14 on a kill by Allison Maxwell.
 
The Wolves (2-2) won the first point in the second frame, but that would be the only lead they would have for the set as a kill by Jalyn Stevenson tied it up and started a 4-0 scoring run for Washburn. The Ichabods went on a scoring tear in the middle of the frame, going on a 10-1 run with six kills from Genna Berg during that time, to go up 16-5. Washburn went up 2-0 on another double-digit win, claiming set two 25-15.
 
Holding a 6-5 lead in the third set, Washburn benefited from a service error which started a run of eight-straight points to quickly go up, 14-5. The Wolves clawed their way back into the match with some miniature scoring runs and eventually knotted up the set at 22 and 23 before going in front 24-23. Stevenson landed a kill to even the score again and a huge block from Kelsey Gordon and Sydney Fitzgibbons put Washburn back in front, 25-24. The Ichabods were unable to close out for the sweep as Northern State won the next three points to make it a 2-1 match.
 
Northern State carried its momentum into the fourth and led from the first point until Berg hammered down a kill and then recorded back-to-back aces to make it 6-5. The Wolves responded with a block to tie up the game, but four-straight kills from the Ichabods put them back on top 10-6. Washburn continued its strong hitting and 12 of its last 15 points were kills with the final point of the match coming on a kill from Berg to make it 25-20 in favor of the Ichabods.
 
Washburn hit .303 in the match while Northern State hit .208. The Ichabods recorded 66 kills and the Wolves had 48. Behind the serving line, the Ichabods had eight service aces while the Wolves had just one.
 
Berg led all scorers with 19 points and had eight digs to go with three service aces. Maxwell also racked up double-figure kills with 13 followed by Fitzgibbons with 11. Jalyn Stevenson also recorded three aces and knocked down nine kills. Libero Faith Rottinghaus scooped up 28 digs and setter Allison Sadler finished with 35 assists and seven digs.

Washburn will travel next week (Sept. 10-11) to Colorado Springs, Colo. for four matches at the Mountain Lion Invitational.