The sixth-ranked Washburn Lady Blues volleyball team dropped their second straight five-set match, 3-2 (22-25, 25-16, 25-20, 16-25, 13-15) to No. 9 Central Missouri on Friday night at Lee Arena. Washburn led two sets to one, but UCM rallied for the five-set win.

Washburn (15-2, 3-2 MIAA) staked UCM to an early 6-1 lead and couldn’t recover in falling in set one. The Lady Blues rallied to win set two in convincing fashion 25-16. WU took set three 25-20 for a 2-1 lead.

Washburn led 3-0 in set four, but UCM (14-3, 4-1 MIAA) scored six straight points and 18 of the next 25 to win set four 25-16. Set five went back-and-forth before UCM took control scoring four of the final six points to get the win.

Freshman outside hitter Hillary Hughes led Washburn with 16 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore rightside hitter Breanna Lewis added 13 kills, while senior setter Kate Hampson dished out a season-high 55 assists to go along with 19 digs. Freshman libero Tessa Brophy led WU with a career-high 31 digs.

Washburn will be back in action next weekend when they host the Holiday Inn/Lady Blues Classic on Friday and Saturday.