Drury University Athletics

TOPEKA, Kan. – Drury volleyball pulled out a trio of tightly-contested sets to record its first win over a top-five opponent in eight years with a 3-1 road victory (25-22, 14-25, 25-23, 25-22) over No. 4 Washburn on the final day of the Ichabod Classic at Lee Arena.

Just one day after dropping all three sets against Southwestern Oklahoma State by four points or less, the Panthers (9-2) flipped the script Saturday to earn their first win over a ranked foe since 2021. DU edged the Ichabods (10-2) by three points in the first set, two points in the third and three in the decisive fourth set to claim a match that featured 28 ties and 13 lead changes.

Abby Renshaw notched her second double-double of the weekend with 11 kills and 10 digs, while Skylar Hilton hit a team-leading .385 with 10 kills and three blocks, and Jacy Bray handed out 39 assists to go along with 15 digs and a pair of service aces. 
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Drury hit .310 as a club in the opening set, grabbing control of a back-and-forth battle with a late 9-1 run that turned a 16-14 Washburn lead into a six-point Panthers advantage.
• Taylor Wood and Chaney Barth combined for four kills during the critical spurt; Wood helped spark the DU run with a back-to-back kills, then blocked an Ichabod attack, while Barth's fifth kill of the set capped the run.
• After Washburn climbed back to within 24-22, Hilton and Barth combined on a block to hand DU the victory in a set that included 12 ties and five lead changes.
• Washburn bounced back in the second stanza, building a 10-3 lead and cruising to the 25-14 decision behind Brooklyn Morrissey's five kills and a .310 team hitting performance.
• But Drury showed its mettle in the third, rebounding from an early 9-5 deficit after Washburn used a 6-0 spurt to claim the lead.
• The Panthers clawed their way back to even (13-13), thanks to three Renshaw kills, only to see the Ichabods respond by winning four straight points to reclaim a four-point margin.
• DU answered by winning the next six points, with a Renshaw service ace and three Washburn errors fueling the run that handed the Panthers a 19-17 edge.
• Washburn once again battled back to even the score (21-21), before kills by Gwen Kubik and Hilton gave DU the lead once more, and Kimrey delivered the put-away kill for the 25-22 victory.
• Kimrey, Kubik and Renshaw combined for 12 kills in the third set.
• The final set mirrored the first, with the two teams exchanging the lead six times, before DU wiped out a late 20-19 Washburn advantage with a 4-1 scoring run.
• Kimrey came up big for the Panthers during the critical run, providing the go-ahead kill (22-21), before combining with Renshaw on a block that gave DU a two-point cushion; after a Washburn attack error, Wood delivered the knockout blow with the match-clinching kill (25-22).

• The Panthers' win over No. 4 Washburn marked its first win over a top five team since an Oct. 13, 2018 victory over Ferris State.
• With nine wins in its first 11 contests, Drury has matched its best start to a season since 2018, when the Panthers also opened 9-2.
• Drury head coach Kelly Richardson's 9-2 record marks the best start by a first-year Panthers head coach on record, topping Jenifer Bahner-Hill's 8-3 start in 2014.
• Bray, Hilton and Renshaw were selected for Ichabod Classic All-Tournament honors.
• Hilton hit .363 with 35 kills (2.92 per set), while Renshaw paced the Panther offense with 41 kills (3.42), as well as 37 digs (3.07 per set) and a pair of double-doubles; Bray totaled 115 assists (9.58 per set) to go along with a team-leading 46 digs, nine kills and three service aces.
• Kubik came through with a career-high six kills, finishing with a .333 hitting percentage and three digs.
• Renshaw's double-double marks her fifth of the season, while Bray's was her fourth in 2026.
• Kimrey added seven kills and notched her third straight six-block effort on the weekend, which matched her career best effort.

#OneDrury