KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The 2019 Pittsburg State University Volleyball campaign came to an end here at Hy-Vee Arena on Thursday afternoon as the Gorillas competed in their first Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) postseason tournament in six seasons.

The No. 7 seeded Gorillas fell to the No. 2 seeded Washburn Ichabods in three sets. They fell by set scores of 25-9, 25-16 and 25-20.

The Gorillas finished the 2019 season with an overall record of 14-16. Head Coach Jen Gomez finishes her fourth year at the helm of the Gorillas with a 45-77 (.369) record.

"I think that we were thrilled to be here. It was something of a little bit of a shock, and I think that it's something that you have to experience and you have to learn and you have to figure out how to play big and big games," noted Coach Gomez after the game. "For us having the one true senior one three juniors, and a whole lot of sophomores and freshmen, I think that this was a great learning experience and I think that this is something that we needed to see, and now we know what level you have to play at all the time, even in these type of big games. This is where we want it to be."

It was all Washburn in the first set as they jumped out to a 7-1 lead forcing Gomez to take her first timeout. The Ichabods kept momentum in their favor as they kept the run going to 15-1 to force the second time out of the set. The Gorillas rallied back and scored eight more points, however, they allowed 15 kills and fell 25-9.

The second set was closer, however, with two quick timeouts, the Gorillas looked to be doomed early. They kept fighting as they closed the gap to within four points at 17-13. That was the closest they would go with the Ichabods closing out the set with an 8-2 run for the 25-16 win.

In the third set, Pitt State jumped out to a 3-0 lead. The two teams battled throughout the set but finally the Gorillas found themselves down 11-9. The Gorillas were on the cusp of pulling off a big rally as they stayed within striking distance before they ultimately fell 25-20.

Meg Auten was the top attacker for the Gorillas with 10 kills in the match while Hope White had seven.