ST. JOSEPH, Mo. -- No. 15 Washburn battled through five sets to claim its first top-10 victory of the season, defeating No. 8 Missouri Western 3-2 on Thursday night on the road. The Ichabods will stay in St. Joe to face Fort Hays State at 6 p.m. on Friday night.
After claiming a 25-15 victory in the first set, the Ichabods (19-4, 6-2 MIAA) fell 25-20 and 25-15 in each of the next two sets as the Griffons (16-3, 6-1 MIAA) went in front. Washburn battled back to win 25-17 in the fourth and pulled out a 17-15 victory in the fifth to win the match.
Early on in the first set it was the Ichabods that pulled in front leading 10-5 after a streak of three straight points. After Missouri Western pulled back within two, Washburn launched an 8-0 rally to lead 21-11 with Lauren Tyler serving an ace. Defense led the way for the Ichabods, holding the Griffons under .100 hitting as a team in the set to win 25-15.
In the second set Washburn got out to another early lead going in front 6-3 after Hayden Meats slammed home a kill. They still controlled a three-point lead late in the set after back-to-back kills by Brooklyn Morrissey and Natalie Hedlund. After that, the next seven points went to Missouri Western as the lead flipped in its favor at 22-18 and they went on to win 25-20.
After both teams split the first 12 points in the third set the Griffons went on another 7-0 run to lead 13-6. Washburn got within three at 16-13 after Hedlund and Morgan Sears combined for a block but that is as close as the score got with Missouri Western claiming a 25-15 victory.
The Ichabods turned it around quickly in the fourth, leading 9-4 after three straight points that started with a kill from Emma Siron. They used a run of six straight points to lead 18-9 after Hedlund slashed a kill midway through the set. The Griffons got back within five but it was too little, too late as Sydney Buscher landed the final kill in a set that saw Washburn hit .429 as a team to win 25-17.
Siron led the way early in the fifth, recording three kills in a four-point stretch to put the Ichabods up 7-2. Shortly after, six straight points from Missouri Western put them in front 11-10. The lead switched hands as Washburn staved off match point twice before winning three straight points, two on kills by Buscher, to claim a 17-15 fifth set win.
The Ichabods finished the match hitting .222 as a team with 63 kills while holding the Griffons to .180 hitting and 65 kills. Digs went 109-107 in favor of the home team which also led 60-58 in assists. Washburn led 11-6 in blocks at the net.
Emma Siron led the Ichabods, delivering the first triple-double for the program in more than 20 years, and just the 4th in program history. She had a team-high 13 kills on .306 hitting with 24 assists, also a team-high, and 15 digs.
Brooklyn Morrissey smashed 12 kills and hit .450 along with six blocks. Natalie Hedlund and Morgan Sears and Hayden Meats each added nine kills while Meats had a career-high 28 digs. Taylor Rottinghaus also made 28 digs in the back row while Lauren Tyler notched a double-double with 23 assists and 10 digs.
Emily Loy led the Griffons with 22 kills while Anna Weberg scooped a match-high 29 digs.
