WAYNE, Neb. – The No. 15 nationally-ranked and No. 6-seeded Washburn volleyball team won the opening set of the NCAA Central Region quarterfinal match, but were unable to stop a strong offensive attack by No. 6 Minnesota Duluth and lost in four sets on Friday afternoon. The Ichabods finish the season with a record of 24-8 and as MIAA Tournament champions.
 
Washburn lost by the set scores of 25-21, 21-25, 19-25, and 19-25. The Bulldogs improve their record to 26-4 and move on to the regional semifinal against No. 3 Concordia-St. Paul on Saturday.
 
In the opening set, Jalyn Stevenson broke an early 4-all tie with a kill that started a 5-1 run to give the Ichabods an 8-4 lead. During that run, the sophomore outside had three kills and ace. Washburn held a 16-11 advantage when Minnesota Duluth rallied with six-consecutive points to jump in front by one for its first lead of the game. Stevenson came through with her fifth kill of the frame to level the score at 17 and followed that up with another service ace to put Washburn up, 18-17. The Bulldogs with tie the set at 18 and pull within one at 22-21, but the Ichabods closed out the first set win on a 3-0 mini run. Austin Broadie also had five kills in the opening frame.
 
It was back-and-forth scoring to begin the second until the Ichabods used a 7-2 run to go ahead, 12-9. The Bulldogs responded by scoring six of the next eight points to jockey in front, 15-14. A big block from Kassidy Pfeiffer and Kealy Kiviniemi stopped UMD's momentum and started a 7-3 run for the Ichabods as they benefited from four Bulldog errors. Minnesota Duluth trailed 21-18 when it was the Bulldogs' turn to capitalize on errors, completing the comeback with seven unanswered points and six Washburn miscues.
 
Minnesota Duluth won the first point of the third game and never trailed. The Bulldogs went on a 7-0 burst to go up, 11-3. The Ichabods trimmed the deficit to three, 15-12, and spoiled set point three times, but Minnesota Duluth finished off the victory with its 17th kill of the set.
 
Washburn started the fourth set with back-to-back points, but the Bulldogs put together a 5-0 run and held the lead for the rest of the set. The Ichabods stayed close and continued to fight back, chipping the lead down to one at 9-8, but two 4-0 runs by Minnesota Duluth gave it the cushion it needed. The Bulldogs hit .425 in the final set and 23 of their 25 points were by way of kills.
 
Minnesota Duluth out hit Washburn .304 to .190 for the match. The Bulldogs had the advantage in kills (67-46) and digs (68-54) while the Ichabods had twice as many blocks (12-6) and one more ace (4-3).
 
Stevenson led the Ichabods with 15 kills and achieved a double-double with 10 digs. Broadie hit .400 for the match and contributed 12 kills. The setter duo of Corinna McMullen and Sydney Conner notched 18 and 17 assists, respectively.
 
Defensively, libero Sydney Pullen led Washburn with 15 digs. Kiviniemi was a part of five blocks and Kassidy Pfeiffer made four block assists and one solo stop.
 
For UMD, Sydney Lanoue hit a scorching .529 and landed a match-high 22 kills and added 17 digs. Samantha Paulsen hit .444 and had 15 kills.
 
WASHBURN NOTES

• The Ichabods lost 10 seniors from last year's team that reached the NCAA National Championship match and welcomed 10 freshmen to this year's squad.
• Washburn won its first-ever MIAA Tournament title this year after defeating three nationally ranked teams (No. 21 UCO, No. 10 NWMSU, No. 12 UNK).
• WU was ranked in the AVCA top-20 for the entire season.
• The Ichabods played 11 matches against opponents ranked in the top-25 and went 7-4.
• Eleven of Washburn's victories were 3-0 decisions and the Ichabods themselves were never swept.
• In his 21st season, Head Coach Chris Herron holds a record of 586-121 and has led Washburn to all 17 of its NCAA postseason appearances.
• After seeing limited playing time for three seasons and totaling 34 kills and nine blocks, Halle Meister turned in an impressive year as she recorded 269 kills and 103 total blocks while hitting .360 for the season … she was recognized for her performance and was named to the D2CCA All-Region second team, All-MIAA first team, and the MIAA All-Tournament Team.
• Pfeiffer also saw limited action in her Washburn career and only had one kill and zero blocks last year … this season, she had 126 kills and was second on the team in blocks with 92.
• In her first year stepping in to the libero role, Pullen scooped up 542 digs to go with 111 assists and 23 aces.
• Stevenson improved on her solid freshman season and led the team with 386 kills (3.22 kps) and tied for the team-high in double-doubles (14), was second on the team in aces (36) and third in digs (392). She was also an All-MIAA first team pick.
• Seven freshmen combined for 674 kills this year.
• Freshman right side Kiviniemi played in 109 of the 123 sets this season and finished third in kills (247) and added 66 blocks. She received All-MIAA second team honors.
• In her first season of competition, redshirt freshman Broadie knocked down 221 kills and made 64 blocks.
• The freshmen tandem of C. McMullen and Conner handled all of the setter responsibilities and guided the Washburn offense to a .226 attacking percentage and 13.8 kills per set.
• McMullen received an All-MIAA Honorable Mention nod and finished the season with 806 assists and 14 double-doubles.