Box ScoreWHITEWATER, Wis.-- The Wartburg volleyball team (31-5 overall) won a thrilling five-set match 3-2 over Saint Benedict (18-10) Thursday to advance to the NCAA Second Round. This is the first time the Knights have advance to the Second Round since 2010. The Blazers won the first set, 25-16, Wartburg won the second set 26-24, Saint Benedict won the third 26-24 and the Knights sealed the win in the fourth and fifth set 28-26 and 15-12.
"Going to a five set match in a barn burner is what the NCAA Regional tournament is supposed to be like," said co-head coach Jennifer Walker.
"(Going five sets) shows that we know how to fight," said senior libero Jamie Farley (Cedar Falls). We never give up no matter what the score is."
"There is a tenacity to this team," said Walker. That is there mentality. Even on the bench we're still in this, no matter what the score is."
"Even when we were down 9-4 in the fifth set, there was no loss of confidence," said senior middle hitter Kaity Brouwer (Dike). "We've come back from more than that and won before and we all have a huge belief in each other."
This marks third-straight time Wartburg has gone to five sets in NCAA Tournament. 2014 L 2-3 to UW-Stevens Point and 2013 L 2-3 to UW-Eau Claire.
"Us seniors had the mentality of we're not coming back to the NCAA touranment and losing first round (like we did in the previous two trips in our careers," said Farley.
Sophomore Maddie Miller (Johnston) had a career-high 15 kills as she was one of four Knights with double digit kills. Seniors Krystal Graves (Cedar Falls) and Brouwer and junior Claire Willenbring (Dyersville) all had 12 in the match.
"That's been our strength all season in our balanced offense," said Walker. "We don't have one individual that we fed the ball to more than any other so our strength comes from that. Our middles can pull blockers and leave our outside and right sides open for the attack. We stuck with our strengths tonight."
"Between and the second and third set is where I started to find my groove," said MIller. "I knew the regional tournament is a big deal so I was nervous and my teammates kept encouraging me and supporting me and that helped me find my rhythm."
Senior Emma Harmeyer (West Des Moines) had 34 set assists and sophomore Maria Brown (Peosta) had 19 as they co-ran the team's offense. Five players finished in double digit digs as Farley had a match-high 28, Harmeyer had 18, Willenbring had 14, Brown had 13 and freshman Lizzy Blough (Dike) had 10. Blough also led the team at the service line with two aces.
Brouwer also set a single-game school record in the NCAA Tournament with her three solo blocks. The old mark was two set three other times, most recently in 2010 by Kamille Van Natta against UW-Whitewater. The Knights set a new single-game school record with five solo blocks.
As a team, Wartburg held the advantage in kills (66-62), hitting percentage (.157 vs. .131), assists (61-58), digs (107-100) and blocks (13-11).
The Orange and Black will face Northwestern-St. Paul at 7 p.m. Friday in the second-round of the NCAA Tournament. Wartburg is 5-1 against the Eagles and has won the last five-straight meetings.
