Luther boxscore
Cornell boxscore
DUBUQUE – A .206 team attack percentage Nov. 5 helped key Wartburg College to its second successive Iowa Conference tournament championship match.
Coach Jennifer Walker’s squad, improving to 22-15, side-stepped sixth-seeded Luther for the third time this season in four sets and rallied back against second-seeded Cornell in five sets during day one play. Three players finished .200 or better in attack percentage with freshman right side hitter/setter Ramey Sieck (Fayette) (14 kills, two errors and 31 attempts - .387), freshman middle hitter Kelly Niemann (Fredericksburg) (17 kills, seven errors and 30 attempts - .333), and freshman outside hitter Maddie Forsyth (Charles City) (18 kills, nine errors and 45 attempts - .200).
Sieck was also the leader in assists (56), while her sister, sophomore outside hitter Britlyn Sieck (Fayette), turned in a squad-best 24 kills. Junior middle hitter Kamille Van Natta (Readlyn) topped the defense with 31 digs, and sophomore middle hitter Monique Davisson (Cedar Rapids) produced three solo and seven assisted blocks for 10 total. Wartburg’s overall net defense was also important to the run through day one, as it totaled 23 blocks.
Walker’s team faces top-seeded Loras in the finale at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 6, inside the Loras Athletic Wellness Center. The Duhawks won a five-set thriller from the Knights in their early-season match in Waverly.
Notes – Wartburg can earn its first NCAA Division III national tournament appearance since 2003 with a win Saturday. … Last year’s championship appearance saw Simpson upend the Orange and Black in three sets in Indianola. … The Knights have won six of their last seven going into the finale. … Among some interesting individual player notes, Davisson has recorded a block assist in 15 consecutive matches. She and Niemann lead a net defense that is in full gear. Niemann’s registered multiple block assists in 15 of her last 19 appearances. Van Natta is on a roll offensively with 10-or-more kills and a .235 or higher attack percentage in three of her last four matches. Ramey Sieck has recorded a service ace in six straight matches and had multiple block assists in six of her last eight outings.
