LIBERTY, Mo. -- Washburn capped off an undefeated first week of the season with a 3-0 sweep of William Jewell to finish off the Kansas City Classic. The Ichabods will head west for the Mountaineer Volleyball Classic beginning Friday, September 13 against Western Colorado University.
It was a consistent effort for Washburn (3-0), winning each set over the Cardinals (0-4) by at least seven points. They finished the match with final set scores of 25-15, 25-18 and 25-17.
It was a slow beginning for the Ichabods as William Jewell won the first four points on its home floor. Washburn responded right back with five in a row, taking the lead on a block by Jalyn Stevenson and Alex Dvorak. Midway through the set a kill from Austin Broadie extended the lead to six at 16-10. The Cardinals were limited to just a .044 hitting percentage in the first set by the Ichabods. Down the stretch Washburn took four of the final five points to take the set.
Once again it was William Jewell out in front early in the second set. Seven straight points by the Ichabods, which began with a kill from Bella Limback, put the set back in their control at 9-4. Three times the Cardinals pulled back within three points but each time Washburn had an answer. They hit .421 as a team in the set, logging 17 kills with just one error. It was a kill by Emery Keebaugh on a pass from Corinna McMullen that ended the second set.
Each team split the first six points of the set before William Jewell went up 7-4. There were a total of nine ties in the final set alone, with the last coming at 16. A kill from Limback tied the match at 16 and sparked a 9-0 run to bring the Ichabods to match point. Two points later Keilah Rivers finished off the match with a kill, ending the set 25-17.
Washburn hit .364 as a team with 49 kills to just nine errors. Defensively, they held the Cardinals to .103 hitting with 19 total errors. The Ichabods picked up 47 assists to just 30 from William Jewell. They also out-dug the home team 60-50.
It was another balanced effort offensively for Washburn with six players recording at least four kills. Bella Limback was the only player in double-digits, finishing with 10 kills while hitting .625 and adding three blocks. Jalyn Stevenson had nine kills to go along with 18 digs. Corinna McMullen also neared a double-double as she tallied a team-high 24 assists with nine digs. Taylor Rottinghaus led all players with 20 digs.
