Dec. 1, 2007

Topeka, Kansas -

By Ken Corbitt, The Capital-Journal

Washburn fell behind early in each game, but only in the first game were the Lady Blues able to overcome the deficit.

A 3-1 loss to Western Washington ended Washburn's season in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Championship on Friday at Lee Arena.

"It felt like we were climbing uphill the whole night," Washburn coach Chris Herron said.

The Vikings, with a small but vocal contingent of supporters, overcame the pro-Washburn crowd with 2,015 fans attending the match.

"It was huge," Vikings coach Diane Flick said of the early leads, "especially with the wonderful crowd Washburn has. When you can quiet a crowd early in the game, that certainly helps your own momentum. We had to set the tone for ourselves that we were going to be the aggressor."

Western Washington (26-4) faces Concordia-St. Paul for the championship at 7 tonight at Lee Arena. Concordia advanced with a 3-1 win against West Texas A&M.

Tessa Jones concluded her three-time All-America career for the Lady Blues (38-4) with 21 kills. Junior Monica Miesner had 13 kills and 24 digs and senior Mandi Cox had 11 kills.

Jaime Anderson had 20 kills for the Vikings, Emily Castro had 19 and libero Courtney Schneider set a Division II tournament single-game record with 44 digs.

"They did a great job defensively," Herron said. "Their libero was awesome."

Anderson, a 6-foot senior, had seven kills in the Vikings' 15-5 run to end the match in the fourth game.

"We were ahead and I really wanted to win," said Anderson, who had 72 attacks in her 20-kill night. "I was tired of being that person they thought they could block."

Washburn had a slow start, falling behind 11-5. A kill by Cox was the first of eight consecutive points that turned into a 14-1 run with three kills by Jones and two apiece by Miesner and Caitlin Conley for a 19-12 lead.

The Lady Blues retained the lead, closing out the 30-23 game with three straight points on kills by Jones and Miesner and a block by Cox and Miesner.

"We came back and got the momentum and finished that game out," Jones said. "A couple of things went our way that game."

Western Washington jumped on top in game two by taking the first three points, and this time it held on. Down 29-19, WU survived four game points before the Vikings closed it out on a kill by Castro.

The Vikings' fast start in game three had them up 9-3 but a 10-3 run by the Lady Blues -- capped by three Jones kills -- put them on top 18-15. The Vikings withstood that flurry and answered with a 10-4 run, taking the final two points of the game on kills by Angie Alvord and Castro.

The Vikings' game four start was only 2-0, and Washburn had leads of 5-4 and 6-5. It was tied 15-15 when the Vikings put together the 15-5 closing run.

"We couldn't get momentum," Cox said. "Everybody was playing really hard and we'd get three or four points and then something would go against us. Sometimes that just happens. They played really well and we couldn't quite catch up."