WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- No. 9 Washburn began its time at the Comfort Inn Invitational hosted by Central Missouri with a pair of sweeps over McKendree and Missouri S&T on Friday afternoon. The Ichabods will finish out the tournament against Ouachita Baptist at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
With the two victories Washburn moved to 10-0 on the season marking the first 10-0 start since the 2022 season. With ten straight victories its the longest winning streak since the 11-0 start in 22. The Ichabods have swept the last seven matches, the first time since 2012 with a streak of seven sweeps in a row. They have also won 24 consecutive sets, the longest since the 2012 season as well.
Match 1: Washburn 3, McKendree 0
The Ichabods started the match with a double-digit victory in the first set and got better from there. After a 25-14 first set win they delivered 25-13 and 25-8 victories in each of the next two sets to close out the match.
The Washburn offense got off to a fast start, with five kills in the first six points coming from four different players. McKendree pulled within two points at 6-4 before a Bella Limback kill started what began as a 7-0 run and turned into a 10-1 burst to put the Ichabods in front by double figures, 16-5. Offensively, Washburn cooled down late, but still hit .300 in the set with 19 kills to take a 25-14 win.
In the second set the Bearcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead but it was short lived. Alex Dvorak and Austin Broadie combined for a block to bring the Ichabods within a point at 3-4, it was the start of a 10-0 run that was concluded by a kill from Limback. The lead grew late as Washburn finished out the set with three straight points to win 25-13 and go up 2-0.
Just like in the previous set, the Ichabods used a big run early on to create separation. This time it was a 9-0 run capped off by an ace from Sydney Conner that made it a 14-3 set. Washburn's offense had its most prolific set of the season, hitting .727 as a team with 17 kills and just one error to finish the match with a dominating 25-8 victory.
For the match the Ichabods hit .421 with 51 kills while limiting McKendree to a .032 hitting percentage and just 19 kills. Digs went big to Washburn, 50-27, as did assists, 46-17.
Bella Limback led the way on the offensive side, knocking down 10 kills on 13 attempts for a .769 hitting percentage. Corinna McMullen had 18 assists along with eight digs while Taylor Rottinghaus paced the defense with 12 digs. Fifteen players recorded a kill for the Ichabods in the match.
Match 2: Washburn 3, Missouri S&T 0
Washburn jumped on Missouri S&T in the first set, winning 25-9 and rode the momentum into a 25-16 win in the second and a come-from-behind 26-24 win in the third.
The Ichabods got out to a 9-2 run to open the match after a kill by Layla Collins coming from Corinna McMullen. A three-point burst from Washburn put them up double digits at 14-4. The Miners pulled back within six before the Ichabods took over down the stretch, winning the final 10 points of the set starting with a kill by Dvorak as they held Missouri S&T to an even .000 hitting percentage in the 25-9 win.
Both sides split the first 12 points in the second set. Washburn created some separation with a 5-1 run to go up 10-7 on a kill by Dvorak. Both sides traded runs through the middle of the set but down the stretch the Ichabods pulled away again, winning the final five points and eight of the last nine. The 25-16 win was finished on a block by Kennedy Derks and Keilah Rivers at the net.
The Miners responded quickly in the third, going up 4-1. After Washburn pulled within one they countered with four straight points making it a 13-8 set. The lead grew to as many as seven before the Ichabods began to chip away, winning three straight points after an ace from Sydney Conner. Shortly after, six straight points went to Washburn as they took the lead at 22-21 on a kill by Brynne Topolski. Shortly after it would be Topolski finishing the match with an ace to end the set 26-24.
Washburn hit .292 as a team with 45 kills while holding Missouri S&T to a .078 hitting percentage and just 26 kills on the night. The Ichabods out-dug the Miners 52-40 and also had a 43-26 advantage in assists.
Keilah Rivers led the way with 11 kills on offense along with three blocks and a pair of aces. Brynne Topolski had 10 kills while Austin Broadie had nine and hit .421. Three players had double figure assist totals led by Corinna McMullen with 17. Taylor Rottinghaus led the way with 13 digs, Autumn Gibbs scooped up 12.
