By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
GUNNISON, Colo. -- Washburn volleyball ran its streak of consecutive sets won to 15 with sweeping victories over Western Colorado and Fort Lewis on Day 1 of the Mountaineer Volleyball Classic.
The Ichabods will wrap up the tournament on Saturday with two more matches, the first at 11 a.m. MST against Western New Mexico.
Washburn volleyball improved to 5-0 on the season with its fourth straight sweep Friday in Gunnison, Colo. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
All six sets on the day for Washburn were won by at least six points. The day began with an 11 a.m. local time match and ended with a second sweep at past 10 p.m. in the mountain time zone.
Match one: Washburn 3, Western Colorado 0
The Ichabods got off to a slow start in the first set but three straight points finished off by a block from Jalyn Stevenson and Alex Dvorak put them ahead, 13-11.
Western Colorado tied the set at 14 before Washburn won five of the next six points to take control of the set for good, winning 25-18 on a kill from Austin Broadie.
Points came early in the second set as the Ichabods led 11-6 following three straight kills. It was a defensive effort for Washburn all match. In the second set the Ichabods held the Mountaineers (0-6) to a .053 hitting percentage with nine kills to seven errors.
It was back-to-back blocks that pushed the lead to 19-11 and forced a timeout from the home squad. The Ichabods took advantage of errors from Western Colorado down the stretch, taking the second set, 25-19.
After trailing 2-1 to begin the third set Washburn won six of the next seven points led by a trio of kills from Broadie to gain control.
Both sides traded points through the middle of the set until the Ichabods pulled away for good late on a 4-0 run sparked by a kill from Bella Limback. They were able to finish off the match on an ace by Abby Leaf, taking the final set 25-16.
Washburn hit .233 as a team in the match with 43 kills while holding the Mountaineers to a .069 attacking percentage with 19 errors to just 28 kills. The Ichabods also won the assist and dig battles, 39-25 and 67-51 respectively.
Stevenson paced the squad with 12 kills while hitting .414 and added 14 digs for a double-double. Broadie finished with nine kills and a .313 hitting percentage.
Sydney Conner led Washburn finishing with 17 assists to go with seven digs and Taylor Rottinghaus finished with a match-high 18 digs.
Match two: Washburn 3, Fort Lewis 0
After falling behind 3-1 to begin the match the Ichabods (5-0) began to roll, winning eight of the next nine points including the last seven finishing with a kill from Emery Keebaugh.
After building a five-point advantage with the streak the lead grew to double digits after Sydney Conner snuck a kill in between the Skyhawk (1-5) defenders to go up 20-10. Both sides would trade points the rest of the way to give Washburn a 25-15 win to begin the match.
It was a slower start in set two as a service error saw the Ichabods down 8-6. They were able to tie the match up at nine on a kill by Austin Broadie and the teams traded the next six points.
Washburn finally created some separation in the set with five straight points, beginning with a kill from Bella Limback. Washburn hit .414 as a team in the second set and used that efficient attack to pull away late with a 25-17 win.
Set three began tightly contested once again with both teams tied at nine. Alex Dvorak sent a pass from Conner to the floorboards and that sparked a six-point burst for Washburn, which wrapped up with a kill from Brynne Topolski to make it 15-9.
Fort Lewis hit -.041 as a team in the third which stifled any chance of a comeback in the set. The Ichabods were able to empty much of the bench down the stretch and come away with a 25-15 set and match victory.
Washburn hit .304 as a team with 40 kills and just 12 errors. They held the Skyhawks to an even .000 hitting percentage with both 26 kills and errors. In assists, the Ichabods led 39-24 while holding a 50-30 edge in digs as well.
Dvorak led Washburn in hitting from the middle with eight kills with a .538 percentage along with seven total blocks. Limback and Keebaugh each had seven kills with Limback hitting .545.
Conner paced the team with 18 assists while Rottinghaus did in digs with 13.
