VIDEO | Post Match Press Conference

Pittsburgh, Pa.----The fifth-seeded and eighth-ranked Washburn University Ichabods used big runs in each set Thursday night, prevailing 3-0 over fourth-seeded and 24th-ranked Wingate University in the NCAA Division II women's volleyball national quarterfinals at the A.J. Palumbo Center. Washburn won by scores of 25-21, 25-20 and 25-17 to improve to 33-4 overall. The Bulldogs end their season at 32-2.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH COLLIER

"As we close out this season after this match tonight, our team has some strong mixed emotions. In one sense we are disappointed that we could not close out some of these sets after having a lead, but in another sense we are really proud of our effort as well as we played at times on a big stage tonight. Washburn is obviously a very good team and had recently beaten several top 10 teams, so we knew it would take an exception performance by us to win this match. As we reflect on the season, we are thrilled that we won the SAC regular season and tournament championships and had three awesome matches in winning the regionals on our home court. We came up short against a really good team tonight, but it was an awesome experience for our players to be here at the NCAA Festival and competing well in the national quarterfinals."

KEY STATS

- Washburn hit .239 on the match with 43 kills and 15 errors
- Wingate hit .113 with 35 kills and 21 errors
- The Ichabods had nine blocks compared to Wingate's eight rejections
- Washburn doubled up the Bulldogs with six aces on the night
- The Ichabods collected 60 digs compared to Wingate's 49
- Washburn hit over .200 in each set

KEY BULLDOGS

- All-American Phoebe Havenaar had nine kills and three blocks to lead the Bulldogs
- Taylor Williams added eight kills; Anna Holmquist had six kills and four blocks
- Hannah Givens contributed six kills and three digs; Sophie Schaff had five kills and three blocks
- All-American Rachel Alles had 30 assists, 14 digs, four blocks and a kill
- Kori Adams picked up 13 digs; Treslyn Ortiz added nine digs

KEY ICHABODS

- Genna Berg had 14 kills to lead Washburn
- Erica Montgomery added 11 kills
- Allison Maxwell contributed seven kills and four blocks
- Shayla Conner had 33 assists and 18 digs

NOTES

- Wingate falls to 22-15 in the NCAA Tournament; most wins of any SAC team
- The 'Dogs are 0-5 in the national quarterfinals
- Wingate was making a SAC-record 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance
- The 'Dogs won their fifth region title in 2018, all since 2010
- Wingate falls to 0-2 all-time against Washburn; first meeting since 2002
- The only player in WU history with over 2,000 digs; Adams ends her career with 2,063 digs
- Holmquist ends her career as Wingate's all-time leader in career hitting percentage
- 21st double-double of the season for Alles
- The 35 kills are a season-low for the Bulldogs this season; second-lowest hitting percentage
- Most kills Wingate has allowed in a three-set match this season
- Fourth straight win over a ranked team for Washburn; five in last six matches
- Wingate is 377-35 overall since 2007
- Ninth time since 2007 Wingate won at least 30 matches in a season
- 12th straight year in the top 15 nationally in winning percentage
- WU will finish as the national leader in winning percentage for the fourth time
- Seventh time the Bulldogs have ranked in the top three in winning percentage since 2007

SET ONE

- Washburn hit .239 while the Bulldogs hit .159
- The set featured five ties and two lead changes
- Havenaar hit .571 with four kills in seven swings
- Williams had three kills in seven swings to hit .429
- Two kills and a block from Holmquist gave Wingate an early 5-1 lead
- Berg's kill tied it at eight, but a block and a kill from Havenaar put the 'Dogs up 10-8
- A Williams kill and Holmquist ace gave the Bulldogs a 16-13 advantage
- Washburn scored the next seven, taking a 20-16 lead on back-to-back Maxwell kills
- Two Williams kills and a Havenaar kill got the 'Dogs within two at 21-19
- A Montgomery kill made it 23-19, Havenaar and Givens answered with kills to make it 23-21
- Berg's kill ended the first frame

SET TWO

- The Ichabods hit .222 with 14 kills; Wingate hit .111 with 10 kills
- Havenaar led the 'Dogs with three kills; Adams picked up seven digs
- Two Montgomery kills gave the Ichabods a 9-7 lead
- Two Havenaar kills got the Bulldogs within one, but a Maxwell block made it 15-11
- Wingate scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 20-18 advantage
- Givens, Schaff and Williams started the flurry with kills, while back-to-back Schaff blocks put the 'Dogs on top
- Washburn countered by scoring the last seven points of the set
- Three Wingate errors and a Katie Heeter ace gave the Ichabods a 22-20 lead
- A Berg kill and Maxwell block made it 24-20, Berg's kill ended the frame

SET THREE

- Washburn hit .209 with 13 kills and four errors
- The Bulldogs had 12 kills and nine errors, hitting .068
- Wingate jumped out to a 10-5 lead, getting three Williams kills along with a kill and a block from Holmquist
- Shayla Connor's kill got Washburn within three, but a Williams kill made it 12-8
- The Ichabods scored the next seven points, taking a 15-12 lead on back-to-back Wingate errors
- Kills from Schaff and Williams got the Bulldogs within two at 17-15
- Back-to-back aces from Taylor Antonowich put Washburn on top 21-15
- Kills from Havenaar and Givens got Wingate back within four, but the Ichabods scored the next four points
- A kill and an ace from Berg made it 23-15, back-to-back Wingate errors ended the match

UP NEXT

- Wingate ends its season at 32-2 overall
- Washburn advances to the national semifinals
- The Ichabods will face Tampa Friday at 6:30 p.m.