EDMOND, Okla. -- No. 24 Washburn fell 3-0 in its penultimate regular-season match Friday evening on the road against No. 10 Central Oklahoma. The Ichabods wrap up the regular season on Saturday at noon against Arkansas-Fort Smith.  

After falling 25-16 in the first set Washburn (19-6, 10-5) improved each of the next two sets but were unable to claim either one as the Bronchos (26-2, 13-2) won 25-18 and 25-22.  

Beginning the match the home Bronchos jumped out to a 4-0 lead which turned into an 8-3 run. Alex Dvorak registered a kill on a dish from Corinna McMullen that started a 4-0 run for the Ichabods to pull within one. Both sides traded points before each went on respective 3-0 runs. With the score at 17-16 Central Oklahoma started a set-ending 8-0 burst in a hurry. They hit .333 in the first frame with 19 kills.  

After trailing early Bella Limback got a 4-0 run going for Washburn with a kill, the streak put the Ichabods up 7-5. Six of the next seven points went to the Bronchos to go up 11-8. Maddie Steiner served an ace to pull back within one at 14-13 but Central Oklahoma responded by winning the next five points and seven of the next eight. A late burst came from Washburn with three points in a row and two by Keilah Rivers but it was not enough as the Bronchos finished out the set 25-18.  

Both sides split the first eight points of the third set before Central Oklahoma moved ahead. Kills by Jalyn Stevenson and Brynne Topolski made it a one-point deficit before the Bronchos went on an 8-0 run. The streak grew to 11-1 and made it 21-10 in the third. Natalie Hedlund sparked a 6-0 run for the Ichabods, and they would pull all the way back within two at 23-21 after an attack error. That is as close as they would come with UCO finishing off the set 25-22.  

Washburn hit .174 in the match after slashing .108 in the final set. They ended with 38 kills while Central Oklahoma had 45 kills and hit .281 overall. The home squad also controlled advantages in digs, 58-48, and assists, 45-38.  

Alex Dvorak led the Ichabods with 10 kills while hitting .471. Corinna McMullen surpassed the 2,000 career assist mark with a team-high 21 assists while Sydney Conner had 15 to go along with eight digs. Taylor Rottinghaus led the backline with 12 digs.  

Addison Wimmer had 12 kills and hit .478 to lead the Bronchos charge. Defensively, Katie Le had 25 digs in the three-set contest.