Box Score Kearney, Neb.  – Three players had a double digit kill total to help third-ranked Nebraska-Kearney beat 12th-ranked Washburn (-19, -27, 19-25, -18) in the MIAA Tournament title match Saturday night at the Health & Sports Center.
 
The Lopers (35-1), now riding a 15-match winning streak, went a perfect 17-0 at home this year. That pushes its home court win streak to 35 in a row, second longest in school history.
 
This is the eighth time in the Rick Squiers era (1999-present) UNK has won both the conference regular season and tournament titles in the same year. The Lopers last MIAA "sweep" came in 2012.
 
And by winning tonight, UNK receives the MIAA's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. That 64-team field will be announced Monday night (6:30 p.m. Central) at www.ncaa.com.
 
To win the rubber match against the second-seeded Ichabods (28-6), Kearney used a balanced offensive attack, 80 digs and some late blocks. Washburn had slightly more kills, digs and blocks than UNK but also had 11 more attack errors and were minus five in the serve game.
 
"I'm happy for our team. This group deserves everything good that's happened to them," said Squiers. "From the very beginning, they've been a hardworking group, a close-knit as group, there's been no drama. We have to leave the net up all day because they want to come in and do things on their own. We've never had a group like that."
 
UNK rode some tough serving to lead the first set from start to finish. The 'Bods were as dominant in the third set as they hammered home 17 kills to never trail. In between, the two played a donnybrook in the second set. Twelve ties, four lead changes and set points for both teams made up the key moment of the match. 
 
Washburn rallied from a 19-15 hole to lead by scores of 24-23 and 26-25. UNK closed on a 3-1 run that featured an ace by sophomore setter Lindsey Smith (Dakota Dunes, S.D.) and a kill by sophomore outside Kendall Schroer (Ogallala).
 
Washburn had 10 hitting errors in a rough first set and 10 more in the fourth. Part of that came from UNK's defense at the net. Already up 18-14, the Lopers recorded three stuffs to build a seven-point cushion and get the H & S Center rocking.
 
Not surprisingly, Omaha senior right side Annie Wolfe was involved in two of the blocks. The MIAA Player of the Year then smashed home her 13^th and final kill of the night to make it 24-17. The shot had so much power on it that it hit the face of a WU back row player.
 
"It's always good to win the tournament when you win the regular season title. You feel like you're supposed to and it's kind of a letdown if you don't. But, it's still really hard to do," said Squiers. 
 
After having a career-high 22 kills Friday night, Schroer had a team-high 15 tonight. She had to swing 53 times to reach her offensive output.
 
Next, Wolfe (13 kills & 11 digs) had her ninth double double of the fall with North Platte freshman Alison Kuenle providing a spark from the outside (10 kills, seven digs & two blocks). Finally, Smith ended with 42 assists, 11 digs, two aces, two blocks and two kills.
 
Elkhorn High graduate and senior outside Leanna Willer carried Washburn. She had 23 kills, 19 digs, two assists and a match-high 56 attack attempts.
 
UNK will likely be the third or fourth seed in the NCAA Central Regional. The destination will either be St. Paul or Marshall, Minn., as Concordia-St. Paul and Southwest Minnesota State play Sunday in the NSIC (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conf.) tourney finals.