Lady Blues cruise past Tigers in three games for MIAA win
Oct. 11, 2006

Box Score | Season Statistics

Junior middle hitter Mandi Cox led the Lady Blues with 10 kills and hit .556 as No. 12 Washburn defeated Fort Hays State 3-0 (30-24, 30-13, 30-19) Wednesday night at Lee Arena. The Lady Blues (19-4, 7-2 MIAA West) will take a break from MIAA action as they travel to the Henderson State Regional Crossover for four matches Friday and Saturday. The four contests will be key regional matchups with two of their weekend opponents in the top 10 in the region. Washburn dropped from the top spot in Wednesday’s NCAA South Central Region poll to No. 3.

The Lady Blues balanced scoring against FHSU (3-22, 1-9 MIAA West) saw them get nine service aces, 46 kills and five blocks. Five players hit .300 or better and as a team they hit .321 and took advantage of .093 hitting from the Tigers.

Junior rightside hitter Tessa Jones and freshman outside hitter Ashley Shepard each had nine kills and freshman middle hitter Shannon Bechard had a career-high .700 attack percentage with seven kills in 10 attempts with no errors.

On defense the Lady Blues were led by junior libero Erica Cowhick with 23 digs and Bechard with four blocks (2 solo, 2 assisted).

Freshman setter Kate Hampson had 25 assists and Jones had three service aces. Cox and junior outside hitter Bailey Saal each had a pair of service aces.

The Lady Blues started the match slow, hitting just .167 in the opening game as there were two lead changes and six ties. In the second game Washburn hit .452 and then recorded a .433 hitting percentage in the final game as the Lady Blues swept their second straight opponent and 10th of the year. They are perfect against unranked opponents at 16-0.