GRINNELL, Iowa—Holding off a late charge from the Pioneers of Grinnell, the Wartburg College Knights extended their record to 5-0, defeating Grinnell in four sets.

The Knights won sets one and two (25-13, 25-20) before falling in set three (25-10). The Knights and Pioneers would need extra points to decide the fate of set four, as the Knights held on to win 29-27.

How It Happened

With traded points early in the first set, Kennedy Meister started the Knights on a 10-0 run. Allison Feigenbaum was credited with three straight blocks during the run as the Pioneers struggled to answer the Knights. Meister recorded two kills in the closing points as the Knights cruised to victory in set one.

Set two saw multiple ties early and a series of attacking errors by the Knights as the Pioneers took an early 9-6 lead. A 6-1 run by the Knights saw Kylie Bildstein help offensively as the Knights took a 14-11 lead halfway through. The Pioneers and Knights saw a point battle as neither team could extend their lead more than three points. The Knights won the second set on a 6-2 run.

After having solid footing in the first sets, the Knights fell into a six-point deficit with back-to-back attacking errors. The Knights continued to struggle against the Pioneers defense as the Pioneers built a 14-point lead late in the set.

Looking to rebound in set four and seal the victory, the Knights fell behind early. A series of kills by the Knights brought the set even at seven. The Knights failed to find an early answer to a 6-0 run by the Pioneers until Zaiah Quirk and Claire Marsh found a rhythm for the team. Bildstein recorded four kills in five points for the Knights as the team took a late 21-18 lead. Meister connected with Marsh for the match winning point before the Pioneers took the lead at 25-24. A kill by Feigenbaum started to seal the victory for the Knights as a service ace by Katie Foster would be the final point of the evening.

Key Players

Bildstein recorded 12 kills on 17 total attacks, hitting at a .706 percentage.

Feigenbaum, Foster, and Caroline Kluesner recorded service aces for the Knights.

Foster and Marsh led the team in digs with 23 each.

As a team, the Knights recorded 42 kills, 164 total attacks, three service aces, and 88 digs.

Weekly Honors

Foster and Bildstein were honored by the American Rivers Conference this afternoon. Bildstein was named the Offensive Player of the Week, while Foster picked up dual honors as Defensive Player and Female Athlete of the Week.

Next Time Out

The Knights are set to compete at the Augsburg Invitational Sept. 10-11. The Knights will face hosts Augsburg University on Sept. 10 at 7 p.m. in their opening match. 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.