WAVERLY, Iowa— Looking to stay alive in the NCAA Regional Tournament, the No. 4 Wartburg College Knights battled in four sets with the Cornell College Rams.
The Knights won the first two sets (25-20, 25-16) before dropping the third set late (26-28). The Knights and Rams engaged in a defensive battle, as the Knights came back in the fourth set for a 25-22 victory.
The Knights will take on the No. 11 Colorado College Tigers on Nov. 13, at 5 p.m. inside Levick Arena.
A Look at the Numbers
The Knights were led by senior
Zaiah Quirk at the net, who recorded 16 kills in the contest with a hitting percentage of. 286. Kyle Bildstein added two blocks and 11 kills, while
Allison Feigenbaum and
Jayme Willemssen recorded three blocks each.
Katie Foster led the way for the Knights defensively, adding 25 digs in the contest.
Claire Marsh recorded 49 of the Knights 53 assists as
Caroline Kluesner recorded two service aces.
As a team, the Knights had 58 kills to Cornell's 52 digs. The Knights recorded a hitting percentage of .228 as a team with 11 total blocks. The Rams of Cornell recorded five service aces, as compared to the Knights three. The Knights and Rams were nearly even in total attacks, as the Rams recorded 181 to the Knights 180.
Tournament Recap
The opening day of the NCAA Regional tournament saw three of the four matches head to four sets. The No. 21 Bethel Royals swept the No. 22 Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers in three sets, 25-17, 25-20, 25-21.
A four-set battle happened between the No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas and the Aurora Spartans. The Athenas dropped the opening set 20-25 before bouncing back to take the next three sets (25-14, 25-15, 25-15).
The No. 11 Colorado College Tigers battled in four sets with the Ohio Northern Polar Bears. The Tigers took the first set 25-21 before dropping the second set 14-25. The Tigers would take the final two sets 25-15 and 25-23.
A Look at the Numbers Nationally (As of 11/07/21)
The Knights are one of two unbeaten teams in the nation, with the other unbeaten team being No. 1 Johns Hopkins. The Knights lead the conference in blocks per set, digs per set, kills per set, hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, and total team blocks.
Foster leads the A-R-C in digs per set (5.96) and ranks No. 8 nationally in this category. Bildstein leads the A-R-C in blocks per set (.96), hitting percentage (.427), and total blocks (92). Bildstein is ranked No. 4 in the nation in hitting percentage. Marsh is second in the conference in assists per set (10.29) and has recorded 988 total assists this season.
Rising in the Polls
After starting the season unranked, the Knights landed at the No. 4 spot in the latest AVCA poll.
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