By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 12-ranked Washburn volleyball held No. 23 Central Missouri to a season-low .087 attacking percentage on Saturday afternoon as the Ichabods swept the Jennies for the first time since 2014.
The 3-0 victory over Central Missouri is just the fifth time in program history that Washburn has shut out the Jennies in 77 matchups since 1978.
No. 12-ranked Washburn volleyball swept Central Missouri on Saturday, improving to 16-3 on the season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Washburn won by the set scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-18 to capture its eighth sweep of the year.
The Ichabods have now won four in a row and hold a record of 16-3 (8-3 MIAA).
Central Missouri (12-7, 7-3 MIAA) got out to a quick 4-2 first-set lead after three errors by Washburn, but the Ichabods responded with nine points in a row to go up, 11-4.
The Jennies pulled within one at 16-15 after a 6-0 burst before a Halle Meister kill sparked a run of five consecutive kills for Washburn to extend its lead to 21-15.
The final point of the 25-20 set was won on a big solo block from Jalyn Stevenson. The Ichabods had 19 kills in the opening set while limiting the Jennies to seven with five attacking errors for a .045 hitting percentage.
The Jennies won the first five points of the second set on Washburn miscues and got out to a 5-3 lead.
The Ichabods found their groove again and won seven of the next 10 points to leap in front, 10-8.
The Jennies tied it at 10-all before Kealy Kiviniemi landed a kill to start a 4-0 WU run. Central Missouri answered with a 4-0 run of its own, but that would be the final tie score of the set as three consecutive kills from the Ichabods pushed the lead to 17-14.
The Jennies closed the gap to one point at 19-18, but could get no closer as the Ichabods held on for the 25-21 win, capped off by a kill from Meister.
It was back-and-forth scoring to start the third frame when the Ichabods created some space with a 7-1 run to go up, 11-5.
Washburn continued its attack and a 6-1 scoring stretch pushed its lead to double figures at 18-8.
Central Missouri got some momentum going after that with six unanswered points to make it a 18-14 deficit.
Meister put an end to UCM's rally and came through with another kill down the middle and the Ichabods won the next three points to lead, 22-14. The closest the Jennies would get was six points and Sophie McMullen finished off the 25-18 set win and sweep with her seventh kill of the frame.
The Ichabods out-hit the Jennies, .210 to .087. Washburn's offense cranked out 55 kills compared to Central Missouri's 22. The Ichabods also led in digs, 66-47, while the Jennies had the advantage in blocks (15-4) and in aces (5-4).
Three Ichabods achieved double-figure kills led by S. McMullen, who notched a double-double after recording a season-high 15 kills to go with 21 digs. Kiviniemi hit .345 in the match and landed 14 kills. Meister was right behind with 13 kills while hitting .320.
Setters Corinna McMullen and Sydney Conner had 33 and 15 assists, respectively. Defensively, Sydney Pullen led all players with 22 digs.
For Central Missouri, Grace Southern and Kersti Nix led the offense with seven kills each.
The Ichabods will play two road matches next week at Fort Hays State on Oct. 11 and at No. 10 Northwest Missouri on Oct. 14.
