WAVERLY, Iowa—Clinching the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Volleyball tournament wasn't easy as the No. 4 Wartburg Knights battled back from a 0-2 deficit to defeat the Coe College Kohawks, 3-2.

The Knights dropped the opening two sets (23-25, 29-31) before battling back to take to final three sets (25-18, 25-23, 15-8).

The Knights are tournament champions for the first time since 2017 and earned the American Rivers Conference Automatic Qualifier to the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament.

This is the Knights ninth tournament title (2002-03-10-12-13-15-16-17-21) and 12^th NCAA tournament appearance (1997-98-2001-02-03-10-12-13-15-16-17-21).
 
How It Happened

With the conference tournament championship on the line, the first set started as a defensive battle. The Knights and Kohawks traded points with the largest team lead coming on a kill from Jayme Willemssen, making it 11-8. The Kohawks fought back to tie the set at 11 before taking a 16-13 lead on an attacking error by the Knights. Kennedy Meister recorded a pair of kills to bring the Knights within one at 18-19. Claire Marsh tied the first set at 21 before the Kohawks pulled away for the opening set victory.

Zaiah Quirk recorded two service aces and a kill during the second set as the Knights took an early 10-8 lead. The Kohawks got their offense clicking, jumping out to a 15-13 lead on back-to-back aces from Majda Suljic. The Knights and Kohawks would battle to a tie at 24 as the set would be tied four times in the closing points. The Kohawks would hold on to defeat the Knights 31-29 to go up two sets to zero.

Needing to win the set to keep their shot at the conference tournament crown, the Knights tied the third set at ten on a block from Willemssen and Bildstein. The block started the Knights on a 9-2 run, jumping out to a 19-13 lead on a Quirk kill. The Knights kept the defensive pressure running as Marsh, Nell Sybesma, and Bildstein recorded blocks in the final points to go to the fourth set.

With a five-point lead early in the fourth set, the Knights saw kills from Meister, Quirk, and Sybesma. The Kohawks fought back to get within three at 12-15 before Bildstein recorded a pair of kills to extend the lead to five at 17-12. The Kohawks went on a late 5-0 run, taking a 18-17 lead which would be the final lead of the match.

With a fifth set needed to determine the A-R-C tournament winner, the Knights took an early 7-4 lead and never looked back. The Kohawks came within one at 8-7 on an attacking error by the Knights. Meister responded with a kill, starting the Knights on a 7-1 run. The Knights won the fifth and final set 15-8 after dropping the opening two sets, a first this season.

"I couldn't be prouder of this group of young women. The experience of winning a five-set thriller, after being down 0-2, is something we will cherish," said head coach Doug Frazell. "What a great way to win the A-R-C Conference tournament. Levick was rocking (with fan support), our players stayed poised, and it was a great night to be a Knight!"

Stats Leaders
 
The Knights were hitting at a .153 percent compared to the .115 percent the Kohawks were tallying.
 
The Kohawks were led by Gracie Urbatsch with 14 kills and Kate Tidman and Grace Lueken with 13 kills respectively. Suljic and Madi Parson recorded four aces each as the Kohawks recorded 12 aces to the Knights eight. Suljic led the Kohawks defensive effort with 37 digs and Parson added 36 digs.
 
As for the Knights, All-Conference honoree Quirk led the Knights with 17 kills and 14 digs for a double-double. Willemssen added 14 kills with an attacking percent of .353, while Meister recorded 12 in the contest. All-Conference honoree Marsh tallied 47 assists as a key part of the Knights offense. League MVP Bildstein added eight blocks, while Defensive Player of the Year, Katie Foster, recorded 25 digs to guide the Knights to the tournament crown.  
 
Selection Show
The No. 4 Knights find out their fate on Monday, November 8 at 11:30 a.m. when the NCAA Selection show airs.

Regional play of the NCAA Division III Tournament takes place 11/12/2021 - 11/14/2021 at eight, to be determined, campus sites. The tournament finals will take place on 11/18/2021 - 11/20/2021 at the Francis Fieldhouse (St. Louis, Missouri), hosted by the University Athletic Association.
 
A Look at the Numbers Nationally (As of 11/04/21)
 
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 (5.99) and ranks No. 7 nationally in this category. Bildstein leads the A-R-C in blocks per set (.95), hitting percentage (.431), and total blocks (84). Bildstein is ranked No. 4 in the nation in hitting percentage. Marsh is second in the conference in assists per set (10.28) and has recorded 905 total assists this season.
 
Rising in the Polls
 
Following the completion of the first undefeated season in school history, the Knights rose to No. 4 in the latest AVCA poll.
 
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