TAMPA, Fla. – The West Texas A&M Lady Buffs' 2021 campaign came to an end on Thursday afternoon after falling to No. 6 Washburn in four sets (22-25, 19-25, 25-21, 21-25) in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. WT concludes the season with a 26-5 overall record while the Ichabods advance to the national semifinal matches to be played tomorrow at the Bob Martinez Athletics Center in Tampa, Fla.  
 
Torrey Miller led the Lady Buffs with 22 kills on 56 swings with seven attack errors to hit .268 followed by Porsha Porath with 10 kills.  Sadie Snay and Blair Moreland paced the offense, combining for 39 assists while Moreland captured nine digs.  Chandler Vogel capped off a historic career in Maroon & White with a season- and match-high 32 digs.  WT finished the afternoon with 55 kills on 163 attempts with 17 attack errors to hit .233 as a team with 49 assists, two aces, 83 digs and five blocks.
 
The Ichabods were led offensively by Allison Maxwell who finished the afternoon with 16 kills on 31 swings with just two attack errors to hit .452 in the match followed by Genna Berg (14), Kelsey Gordon, and Jalyn Stevenson (11) in double-figures. Allison Sadler paced the WU offense with 44 assists to go along with 11 digs for the double-double while Faith Rottinghaus collected a team-high 28 digs.  Washburn finished the match with 61 kills on 179 swings with 14 attack errors to hit .263 as a team with 52 assists, four aces, 77 digs and five total blocks in the win.
 
The Lady Buffs made the program's 14^th appearance in the NCAA Division II Volleyball Elite Eight under third year head coach Kendra Potts.  At the helm of the program, Potts has led her alma mater to a 58-16 record including WT's 14^thSouth Central Regional Championship and 16^th Lone Star Conference Championship titles.