Boxscore
DUBUQUE – Wartburg College concluded a memorable weekend at the 2010 Iowa Conference Championships with the tourney title Nov. 6.
The Knights, the tourney’s third seed, rebounded from 25-23 and 26-24 losses in the opening two frames against top-seeded Loras, and reeled off 25-16, 25-18 and 15-12 wins to take the match. Freshman middle hitter Kelly Niemann (Fredericksburg) concluded the clash with a kill down the right side of the Duhawk defense.
“It’s an absolutely awesome feeling,” Niemann said. “We were just able to get some touches in the third and fourth sets, and it got our defense going.”
Wartburg (23-15) finished with 11 team blocks. Niemann led the charge with two solos and five assists for seven total blocks. Sophomore middle hitter Monique Davisson (Cedar Rapids) was also tough on the Loras offense down the stretch with four block assists.
On offense, the Orange and Black turned the tide in the final three sets as well. They reeled off .242 and .295 attack percentages to set up the fifth set. In the decider, they out-hit their hosts .222 to .125.
Five players wound up in kill double figures. Sophomore outside hitter Britlyn Sieck (Fayette) had a monster effort with 19 kills, just one error and 43 attempts for .419. Freshman outside hitter Maddie Forsyth (Charles City) wasn’t far behind with 13 kills, one error and 25 attempts for a .480 attack percentage. Niemann (12 kills), Davisson (10 kills), and junior middle hitter Kamille Van Natta (Readlyn) (12 kills) added in the kill parade.
Walker agreed with Niemann when looking back at the win.
“(Freshman right side hitter) Ramey Sieck got us out to a good lead in the third set on serve,” she said. “It helped us get some confidence, and you could see it grow as we forced the fourth set and throughout the remainder of the match.
“When we were able to get our hands on their attackers’ attempts, after Loras really hit well on us in the first two sets, it made the big difference, just like Kelly mentioned,” she added.
Wartburg finds out its 2010 NCAA Division III national tournament opponent and site with the releasing of the field Monday, Nov. 8.
Notes – The tourney title is Wartburg’s first since 2003. The Knights upended Buena Vista 3-0 to claim the tournament championship that year inside the former Knights Gymnasium. … Britlyn Sieck, with her 26th double-figure kills’ effort, went over the 900-mark for her career. She has 905 going into the NCAA tournament. … The 2010 Knights can equal an interesting feat that the 2007 team accomplished. With 32 more kills, Van Natta joins Sieck in the 400-kill club. The 2007 squad had two players do the same thing.
