WAVERLY, Iowa - The Wartburg volleyball team opened American Rivers Conference play with a 3-0 victory (25-19, 25-11, 25-18) at Luther College Wednesday evening, improving its record to 8-5 overall (1-0 A-R-C). 

The Knights earned a clean sweep of the Norse, limiting the Norse to under a .031 hitting percentage throughout three sets.

After jumping out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-19 set one win, Wartburg gain momentum in set two, hitting .367 while forcing eight Luther errors to go along with their -.059 attack percentage. Seven-straight points gave the Knights a 10-3 lead as the rolled to a 25-11 second set triumph. 

Luther showed some push back in the final set, forcing seven Wartburg errors and opening the set with a 4-2 advantage. The Norse hung with the Knights until four consecutive Orange and Black points gave the visitors a 13-8 lead to cause a Luther timeout. The Knights closed out the set on a 12-10 run to claim the 3-0 conference-opening victory. 

Jayme Willemssen led Wartburg with eight kills, followed by seven from each Natalie Clayberg and Dani Johnson. Claire Marsh led with 17 assists while Katie Foster notched 13 digs. 

Up Next
Wartburg heads to Pella, Iowa Sept. 20-21 to compete in the Central Invite, taking on UW-River Falls, Bethel, Concordia Chicago, and North Central.