WAVERLY, Iowa— The magical run by the No. 4 Wartburg College Knights volleyball squad fell in five sets to the No. 3 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athenas in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. 

The Knights took the first two sets (28-26, 25-20) before the Athenas charged back to take the final three sets (25-20, 25-18, 18-16).

The No. 4 Knights end their season with a record of 29-1. The Knights completed the first unbeaten regular season in October, won the regular season and tournament championship from the American Rivers Conference, and made their second program appearance in the Sweet 16.

Katie Foster and Kylie Bildstein were among the athletes named to the Regional All-Tournament team for their performances.

Game Summary

Bildstein opened the scoring for the Knights with back-to-back kills on passes from Claire Marsh before Marsh recorded her first kill as the Knights took a 3-2 lead. The first set was tied eleven times, as the largest lead for either team was three. The Athenas of C-M-S went on a late 5-1 run, taking a 24-22 lead over the Knights. Bildstein added a pair of kills as the Knights tied the set at 24. Kennedy Meister recorded a kill to tie the set at 25 as the Athenas took a 26-25 lead. Jayme Willemssen recorded a late kill before blocking an attack by the Athenas as the Knights took the first set 28-26.

Blocking was the name of the game in the second set as Meister, Willemssen, and Bildstein all recorded early blocks with a 5-2 lead by the Knights. Zaiah Quirk and Allison Feigenbaum got in on the scoring action as the Knights took a 9-4 lead early. The Athenas fought back, coming with one at 12-11. Feigenbaum added a kill and a block to her stat line as she extended the Knights lead to five at 19-14. Trading points back and forth, the Athenas would come with three at 22-19 but were unable to overcome the early lead by the Knights.

Caroline Kluesner recorded an early service ace in the third set as the Knights and Athenas continued to battle on the court. Quirk added a kill to tie the game at 14 before the Athenas started to click offensively. The Athenas went on a 7-3 run, taking a late 21-18 lead. The Knights were unable to catch up, recording a late attacking error, as the Athenas took a 25-20 lead.

Willemssen recorded three kills and a block in the fourth set as the Knights looked to find the third set win. A kill from Marsh gave the Knights a 7-5 lead before the Athenas went on an 8-1 run, taking an 13-8 lead. A pair of errors by the Knights saw the Knights trailing by seven late in the set. Willemssen started the Knights on a 5-0 run late, recording a kill to snap the scoring drought. The Athenas would even the match at 2-2, finishing the fourth set on a 5-1 run.

With a fifth set needed to determine the winner, the Knights fell behind at 12-7. Bildstein recorded a late kill, followed by a block from Quirk as the Knights trailed 13-9. Foster had a late service ace, bringing the Knights within one at 14-13. The Knights and Athenas recorded four kills in the final points as the Athenas outlasted the Knights 18-16 to advance to the Elite Eight.

A Look at the Numbers

The Knights had a hitting percentage of .177 on 243 attacks and 64 kills. The Athenas had a hitting percentage of .234 on 252 attacks and 83 kills. The Athenas recorded seven blocks and 146 digs as a team. The Knights added 10 blocks and 133 digs.
 
Three Knights landed in double figures for kills with Bildstein (18), Willemssen (15), and Meister (12) leading the way for the Knights. Meister recorded a double-double, adding 15 digs to her record. Quirk was one kill shy of a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs.
 
Foster continued to be a defensive presence with 39 digs, a season high. Kluesner added 34 digs for the Knights. Marsh had 54 of the Knights 63 total set assists while recording three kills.
 
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