Kearney Neb. – Junior outside hitter Kendall Schroer had 18 kills and seventh-ranked Nebraska Kearney won a tight third set to beat Washburn (22-25, -18, -27, -22) Friday night at Lee Arena in Topeka.

UNK improves to 25-2 (12-1) while the Ichabods fall to 15-10 (6-7).

On "Senior Night", the young 'Bods gave the Lopers everything they wanted and more. UNK had dropped two straight in Lee Arena and found themselves down 1-0 in tonight's match after WU closed the first set on a 5-0 run. UNK hit just .022 (11-10-45) in the opening stanza.

Kearney came back and went on an 8-3 run to break a 13-all tie in the second set. This spurt featured kills by four different Lopers and an ace from junior setter Lindsey Smith (Dakota Dunes, S.D.). UNK also warmed up by hitting .250 (15-5-40).

The key third set featured 10 ties and two lead changes with the Lopers grabbing leads of 5-1 and 17-14. However, WU kept battling back and even fought off four set points before finally falling. UNK had 16 of its 59 kills in this set with sophomore outside Julianne Jackson (Bonner Springs, Kan.) having two big ones down the stretch.

Finally, Kearney controlled the final set, never trailing as it hit .233 (17-7-43). Overall, the Blue & Gold finished with a .186 efficiency with WU coming in at .177. Having two fewer kills than the 'Bods, UNK made up the difference by being plus seven at the serve line. 

Schroer (Ogallala) reached her team-high kill total in 51 swings. No other Loper had a double digit kill total but six were between four and eight. That large group included Smith (.308 pct.) and sophomore middle Josie Cox (North Platte). Defensively, Cox and fellow middle Tara Ziegelbein (Lincoln Lutheran) combined for 11 blocks with Jackson (21) and junior Morgan Stute (20) combining for 41 digs.

For the 'Bods, freshman outside Genna Berg had 24 kills and 15 digs.

UNK heads to Emporia State Saturday night.