WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- No. 16 Washburn began its final road trip of the regular season with a 3-0 sweep over Central Missouri on Friday night. The Ichabods will face off with Missouri Southern at 6 p.m. on Saturday night in the final MIAA match of the regular season.
After fighting through a tight 25-22 first set victory Washburn (21-6, 8-3 MIAA) took down the Jennies (15-12, 6-5 MIAA) 25-20 in each of the next two sets to complete the sweep.
Early on in the first set it was Central Missouri that got out to an early 9-4 lead after four straight points. Brynne Topolski slashed a kill that began an 8-2 stretch, putting the Ichabods up 12-11 after Hayden Meats took a pass from Shannon Frakes to the floor. The Jennies re-took the lead and held it until a streak of four straight points put Washburn up 18-16. Down the stretch Washburn won three of four points to secure a 25-22 first-set victory.
Once again, the home squad got out to an early lead, creating a 9-6 advantage in the second set. The Ichabods battled back, tying the set twice before landing six straight points, starting with a kill from Natalie Hedlund, to go in front 18-13. Washburn closed out the set on the defensive end with Topolski and Brooklyn Morrissey combining for a block to win 25-20.
Both sides split the first 22 points in the third set, 11 each way. Shortly after, the Ichabods went on a 6-0 run moving them from down two to up by four at 18-14 after Meats landed an ace. The Jennies chipped away at the lead, pulling within one point three times before Washburn ended the match on a 4-0 run including back-to-back kills by Emma Siron to finish off the sweep.
The Ichabods hit .218 as a team in the match with 48 kills while Central Missouri was held to 36 kills and a .137 team hitting percentage. Washburn also led 78-70 in digs and 44-35 in assists.
Taylor Rottinghaus led the back row with 23 digs while adding five assists. Emma Siron slashed nine kills with 17 assists and 10 digs. Hayden Meats led the offense with 11 kills while hitting .270 and adding nine digs. Brooklyn Morrissey also had nine kills while hitting .313. Shannon Frakes also added a double-double with 17 assists and 10 digs.
Maya Ferguson had 10 kills to lead UCM, Ragin Corwin scooped up 20 digs.
