INDIANOLA – As has become the norm in the series between the two programs, it took five sets to decide a winner at Cowles Fieldhouse Sept. 8.
Wartburg College head coach Jennifer Walker and her team didn’t mind. They were happy, because it ended with her Knights gaining a key 20-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-10 win over Simpson, the defending Iowa Conference champions. It was the fifth time in the last nine series meetings that the match went the distance.
“(Simpson) just came out and got after us early,” Walker said. “We didn’t block well, and they found spots to hit to. We finally started to get some blocks going in the third set. Once we got that win and developed a good lead in the fourth game, things started rolling for us.
“This a very big win to get the Iowa Conference season started,” she added. “It was a total team effort.”
Along the front line, the trio of freshman outside/right side hitter Maddie Forsyth (Charles City), freshman outside hitter Ramey Sieck (Fayette) and junior middle hitter Kamille Van Natta (Readlyn) led the attack. Van Natta hammered the Storm defense with 15 kills to go along with 15 digs and four block assists. Sieck finished with 12 kills, a team-best .357 individual attack percentage and 17 assists, while Forsyth, continuing the torrid start to her Wartburg career in which she has hit .348 or higher in four of the six contests, registered 11 kills, a .348 attack percentage, and six block assists.
The Knights don’t get much time to enjoy the victory. A solid field awaits them at their annual invitational Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10 and 11, including NCAA Division II Maryville University of Missouri, NCAA Division III regionally and nationally-touted Nebraska Wesleyan and St. Mary’s University of Minnesota and a Buena Vista squad that also opened its IIAC slate with a road win Wednesday.
“We’ll take tomorrow to keep working on things,” Walker said. “The biggest part will be to try and get things going faster earlier. We’ve been getting out of the gate a little too slowly. You can’t afford that against anyone.”
More notes - Walker indicated the play of senior setter Britney Hermsen (Farley) and freshman libero/setter Marissa Shinstine (Tripoli) provided a spark in the final two sets. “Britney really stepped up and played well in the back,” she said. “She had a lot of energy. Marissa was equally as strong at libero.”. … Not only did the Knights close with an impressive .236 attack percentage, they also rifled off nine service aces including four from freshman outside/middle hitter Kelly Niemann of Fredericksburg. … The Orange and Black’s IIAC campaign resumes Tuesday, Sept. 14, inside Levick Arena at the Wartburg-Waverly Sports and Wellness Center. First serve is 7:30 p.m. against Cornell College of Mount Vernon who went into the weekend with a perfect overall record.
