WAVERLY, Iowa— A defensive battle inside Levick Arena saw the No. 5 Wartburg Knights (21-0, 5-0) defeat Loras College (14-5, 3-3) to remain undefeated on the season.

The Knights defeated the Duhawks of Loras in four sets: 25-18, 25-19, 23-25, and 25-23.

How It Happened

The first set started as a defensive battle as the largest lead came from a Zaiah Quirk kill at 5-2. The Duhawks would come within one at 5-4 before back-to-back errors started the Knights on a 7-0 run. An Allison Feigenbaum kill gave the Knights an eight point lead at 14-6. A 7-3 run by the Duhawks brought the game within five late. The Knights would battle point-for-point, winning the first set by seven sets.

A defensive battle ensued in the second set as the teams traded points early. After tying the game at five, the Duhawks started a 7-1 run for an early lead. Natalie Clayberg recorded three kills in an 8-0 run by the Knights as the Orange & Black took a 15-11 lead. A Kylie Bildstein kill gave the largest lead of the set at six (19-13) before the Duhawks brought the game within two. Attacking errors were the final points of the set as the Knights pulled away 25-19.

Three kills by Quirk helped the Orange & Black extend their lead at 13-6 in the third set. Seven unanswered points by the Duhawks would tie the set. The teams tied the set four times as the Knights' Katie Foster set the lead at 21-18. The Duhawks recorded five kills in the closing points to force a fourth set.

The Duhawks jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth set before Bildstein and Feigenbaum got the Knights started offensively. On an assist from Claire Marsh, Bildstein tied the fourth set at nine. The set was tied seven times before Feigenbaum gave the Knights back the lead for the final time. The Duhawks fought back, bringing the game within one several times. The Knights defense held on to win the match on a block from Marsh.

Stats Leaders

Quirk and Feigenbaum recorded 12 kills as Bildstein added 10 kills for the Knights. As a team the Knights recorded 50 kills in the contest.

Lindsey Spolidoro had three service aces for the Knights as the team was credited with five total aces.

Jayme Willemssen was credited with six of the Knights nine blocks, while Foster added 22 digs in the contest.
 
The Knights recorded a total of 105 digs, while the Duhawks had 106 total digs. The Duhawks had four more kills than the Knights as the Orange & Black led in blocks.  
 
In the Polls
 
Following an impressive performance this season, the Orange & Black rose to the No. 5 spot nationally.
 
A Look at the Numbers Nationally (As of 10/12/21)
 
The Knights are one of six unbeaten teams in the nation, including No. 1 Johns Hopkins. The Knights lead the conference in blocks per set, digs per set, kills per set, hitting percentage, total team blocks and total team attacks per set.
 
Foster leads the A-R-C in digs per set (5.96) and ranks No. 5 nationally in this category. Bildstein leads the A-R-C in blocks per set (.84), hitting percentage (.434), and total blocks (58). Marsh is second in the conference in assists per set (10.26) and has recorded 708 total assists this season.
 
 
Next Time in Action
 
The Orange & Black hit the road for their final regular season road match as they travel to Coe on Oct. 16. The Kohawks of Coe are currently undefeated in the A-R-C at 5-0.
 
For more information on Wartburg Athletics, follow the Knights on Twitter, Instagram, like us on Facebook, or sign up for text updates/score alerts from the rainedout.net text-messaging system.