WAVERLY, Iowa-- This weekend’s five-team invitational opens a five-game homestand for Wartburg. The field features three Top 25 opponents in No. 15 Concordia-Moorhead, No. 21 St. Olaf and the host squad which earned the No. 24 spot in the AVCA Top 25 Week 1 poll released Tuesday. Knox and Nebraska Wesleyan complete the field.
Concordia-Moorhead (4-1) : The Cobbers went 3-1 at the UW-Eau Claire Invitational to open the 2011 season last weekend. The Cobbers beat Lawrence and St. Ben’s on Friday but then lost to Carthage (Ill.) on Saturday and ended the tournament by outlasting the host Blugolds 3-2.
Jenna Green became the 10th player in school history to reach the 1,000-kill mark. Green and fellow senior Katie Vohnoutka were named to the All-Tournament Team.
Nebraska Wesleyan (2-2): The Huskies, who received votes in the AVCA Week 1 poll, opened the 2011 season by going 2-2 at the Sugar Loaf Classic hosted by St. Mary’s in Winona, Minn. The Prairie Wolves split matches on both Friday and Saturday of the tournament.
NWU opened the year with a 3-0 sweep of Luther College winning 25-22, 25-18 and 25-14. Tenth ranked St. Thomas was the next opponent for the Prairie Wolves. St. Thomas won the first set easily, 25-13, but the Prairie Wolves bounced back to take set two, 25-22. St. Thomas was too much as they closed the match winning the final two sets 25-19 and 25-18.
On Saturday, the Prairie Wolves lost to the College of St. Scholastica, 3-0, in scores of 25-21, 25-18 and 25-16. NWU closed out the weekend with a sweep over Loras College winning 25-10, 25-17, 25-20.
Mackenzie Hite was named to the Sugar Loaf Classic All-Tournament team.
Knox (0-5): The Prairie Fire competed at the University of Dubuque triangular earlier this week. Knox fell 3-1 to host-Dubuque and 3-0 to Edgewood College Thursday. The Prairie Fire fell in straight sets to Cornell College and host-Augustana Sept. 3.
St. Olaf (3-1): St. Olaf shared the MIAC regular season crown and won the league's postseason tournament in 2010. The Oles return 10 from a team that went 31-5 last fall.
St. Olaf dropped its season opener to St. Scholastica in three straight sets, before defeating the next three opponents, Crown College, Bethany Lutheran and Martin Luther, last weekend.
Wartburg (4-0): The Knights traveled to Claremont, Calif. for the Pacific Coast Classic last weekend. Wartburg opened the tournament with a three-set sweep over host-Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and defeated Berry College 3-1. In its final day, the Orange and Black came back from being down 2-0 to LaVerne to win 3-2 and swept Pomona-Pitzer 3-0.
Record Watch:
-Junior Britlyn Sieck (Fayette) is nine kills shy of the 1,000 mark for her career entering the weekend. She would become the 10th player in program history to accomplish this feat.
-Coach Walker is 12 victories shy of the 300 mark for her time at the helm of Wartburg’s program and nine shy for her entire career.
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