LIBERTY, Mo. -- No. 16 Washburn wrapped up the regular season with a fourth straight sweep on Tuesday evening defeating William Jewell 3-0 on the road. Next up, the Ichabods will head to the MIAA Tournament in St. Joseph, Mo. beginning Nov. 12.
Washburn (23-6, 9-3 MIAA) pulled away late in the first set to win 25-21 before securing the sweep with 25-16 and 25-23 wins over the Cardinals (7-20, 3-8 GLVC) in the next two sets.
The first set opened with the Ichabods jumping out to a 9-3 lead after Morgan Sears took a pass from Shannon Frakes to the floor. William Jewell battled back, pulling within three points after going on a 4-0 run and later going in front 16-15 after five points in a row. Washburn responded with five points of their own, three coming on kills by Brynne Topolski as the momentum carried over into a 25-21 victory in the first set.
An early four-point burst in the second set put the Ichabods up 8-5 after Sydney Buscher landed a kill. The lead grew to six points after Topolski and Sears combined for a block that capped off another 4-0 rally. The Washburn lead reached double figures as the team combined to hit .372 for the set to win 25-16.
In the third set, both sides split the first 20 points of the match. The Cardinals took the lead winning five of six points to go in front 15-12. The Ichabods jumped right back in front with four straight points, a run that grew to 7-1 and a 19-16 lead after Natalie Hedlund landed a kill. Late in the set William Jewell pulled within one point but Washburn was able to hold on late to win 25-23 and complete the sweep.
In the sweep the Ichabods hit .303 with 51 kills while holding the Cardinals to 35 kills and a .140 hitting percentage. Digs went 61-51 in favor of Washburn, as did assists, 49-32.
Brynne Topolski had 10 kills while hitting .381 and adding three blocks for the Ichaobds. Hayden Meats also had 10 kills, adding 11 digs for a double-double. Shannon Frakes notched a double-double as well with 24 assists and 15 digs. Taylor Rottinghaus had 14 digs and Morgan Sears hit .545 with seven kills and six blocks.
Macy Bartlett led William Jewell with 13 kills while adding seven digs.
