No. 12 Washburn sends volleyball team to defeat

Leandra Pelae

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The UMR volleyball team had its hands full Tuesday night and dropped a 3-0 decision to No. 12-ranked Washburn at Lee Arena.

The Lady Blues won the first game 30-22, then posted back-to-back 30-20 wins to wrap up the match.

After falling behind 5-0 in the opening game, UMR clawed back and got to within two at 12-10 on a block by Katie Herington. Leandra Pelae's kill moments later made it 13-11, but Washburn scored the next five points of the game and never looked back.

UMR got its first lead of the night at 10-9 in game two on a service ace by Pelae and still led 12-11 before the Lady Blues scored six straight points to take an insurmountable lead. Washburn never trailed in the third game, jumping out to a 16-9 lead to start out.

Pelae led the Lady Miners with 14 kills in the game and had a .382 hitting percentage in the game as she had just one attack error in 34 tries. UMR also got eight kills from Maddie Owak and 32 assists from Ashlyn Balensiefer; she also posted 14 digs along with Bridget Williams, who was playing in her hometown Tuesday night.

The Lady Miners (0-9) will return to Rolla to open the home slate for the first time Friday when they host Drury in a 7 p.m. match at the Bullman Multi-Purpose Building.