Friday, Oct. 17 | Waverly, IA | Levick Arena
Wartburg vs. Simpson | 6 PM
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
Saturday, Oct. 18 | Waverly, IA | Levick Arena
Wartburg vs. Central | 11 AM
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
 
The Wartburg College volleyball team (13-6 overall) prepares to defend Levick Arena this weekend with a pair of American Rivers Conference matches with the Simpson Storm and the Central Dutch.

The Knights play a single match on Friday, Oct. 17, beginning at 6 PM against Simpson, and a single match on Saturday against Central beginning at 11 AM.

KNIGHTS
Record: 13-6, 3-1 A-R-C
Last Game: W, 3-1 at Grinnell College
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: DeAnn Akins (1st Season) | 13-6 overall
All-time vs. Simpson: 39-37
All-time vs. Central: 25-60-1

STORM
Record: 15-4, 3-0 ARC
Last Game: L, 3-1 at University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: Dani Lynch (1st Season) | 15-4 overall

DUTCH
Record: 15-6, 1-1 ARC
Last Game: W, 3-0 vs University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: Jenanne Czipri (9th Season) | 124-113 overall
 
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
Wartburg begins the week with a 13-6 record after earning a pair of victories in an American Rivers Conference matchup with Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, and a non-conference bout with Grinnell College in Grinnell, IA. Sophomore middle hitter Anna Sash leads the Knights with 181 kills, followed closely by Kaylee Koudelka with 165. Defensively, Peyton Robinson has recorded a team-best 320 digs, while setter Sophie Sedgwick has tallied 380 assists.

Sash leads the American Rivers Conference with 86 total blocks, the highest mark in the league to date and a total that ranks third in the nation. Aspen Falk paces the team in service aces (31), followed closely by Sedgwick and Robinson (25 apiece).

Volleyball Senior Day Saturday, Oct. 18
The Wartburg College women's volleyball team will honor six seniors: 

Sophie Sedgwick from Waverly, IA
Aubrie Pruess from Clarence, IA
Kaylee Anderson from Charles City, IA
Macie Huntington from Dubuque, IA
Liv Anderson from Ankeny, IA
Emma Salvo from Eldora, IA

SASH PICKS UP SECOND A-R-C DEFENSIVE POTW HONOR
Third in the nation with 86 blocks, Sash picked up her second American Rivers Conference Player of the Week Award on Oct.13, following her first nod Sept. 29. 

ROBINSON SURPASSES 1,000-DIG MARK
Junior Peyton Robinson etched her name into program history by recording her 1,000th career dig in a 13-dig effort against Luther on Sept. 23. Sash recorded two blocks against Buena Vista and another seven against Grinnell.

SEDGWICK DISHES OUT 1,500th ASSISTS VS DUBUQUE
Senior Sophie Sedgwick surpassed the 1,500-career assist milestone with 13 against Dubuque on Oct. 3.

AKINS EARNS INAGURAL VICTORY
Head Coach DeAnn Akins earned her first career victory at Wartburg with a 3-1 win over Transylvania University. After dropping the opening set, the Knights rallied with three straight set wins (25-16, 25-22, 26-24), overcoming a 24-20 deficit in the final frame to secure the match.

The Knights followed with a sweep of Olivet (25-16, 25-13, 25-16) before falling to an unbeaten Berry College (Ga.) squad in straight sets.

ALL-TIME SERIES VS. OPPONENTS
Simpson College
Wartburg holds the edge in the all-time series over Simpson, 39-37, dating back to 1979. Wartburg has won nine out of the last ten matchs against the Storm, but dropped their most recent match in November of 2024, as Simpson secured a 3-0 sweep. The Knights last won the year prior with a 3-1 victory.

9/16/15 – W, 3-0
10/22/16 – W, 3-0
10/26/17 – W, 3-1
10/16/18 – W, 3-0
10/8/19 – W, 3-0
3/20/20 – W, 3-0
10/22/21 – W, 3-0
10/08/22 – W, 3-2
10/28/23 – W, 3-1
11/02/24 – L, 0-3

Simpson enters the matchup at 15-4 overall. In a doubleheader on Oct. 10, Simpson split their matches, as they defeated North Park 3-2 in five sets before dropping their final match against UW-Platteville, 3-1.
 
Central College
Central holds the all-time series over Wartburg, 25-60-1, dating back to 1979. Wartburg has taken eight of the last ten matches over Central, with their last victory coming on November 1 of last year, when they took a 3-1 victory. Less than two weeks later Wartburg defeated Central 3-1 for their latest victory.

11/4/16 – W, 3-1
10/20/17 – W, 3-2
10/6/18 – W, 3-0
10/11/19 – W, 3-1
2/26/20 – W, 3-0
10/23/21 – W, 3-0
10/07/22 – W, 3-1
10/27/23 – L, 2-3
11/01/24 – L, 1-3
11/12/24 – W, 3-1

Central enters the weekend at 15-6 overall. In a pair of non-conference bouts against Monmouth College and UW-River Falls, the Dutch picked up two wins, defeating Monmouth 3-1 before sweeping UW-River Falls 3-0. Prior to the matchup on Saturday, Central travels to Cedar Rapids for a conference match with Coe College.
 
 
KNIGHTS WELCOME 12 NEWCOMERS
Twelve of the 29 players on the 2025 roster are newcomers.

Gracie Hoskins (Urbana, Iowa/Center Point Urbana), Haedyn Rebelsky (Van Meter, Iowa/Van Meter), Ashlynn Hodges (Shenandoah, Iowa/Shenandoah), Addison Huffman (Manchester, Iowa/West Delaware), Zoey Breeding (Winterset, Iowa/Winterset), Neah Bunkers (Polk City, Iowa/North Polk), Ema Roberts (Ladora, Iowa/HLV), Abigale Merritt (Galena, Ill./Galena), Brooke Burgemeister (Belle Plaine, Minn./Belle Plaine), Dakota Poen (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk), and Callie Welsch (Winterset, Iowa/Winterset).
 
AKINS MAKES COACHING DEBUT
This season marks the debut season for Head Coach DeAnn Akins, with longtime head coach Jennifer Walker transitioning into her 28th year as an assistant coach.

Akins joins the Wartburg coaching staff from Coe College where she has led that program since 2006. Over her tenure at Coe, Akins won five A-R-C regular season championships and three A-R-C tournament titles. Akins earned four trips to the NCAA Tournament, with 388 career victories over her 19 seasons at the helm. Sixty All-ARC performers, 12 All-Americans, and three offensive conference MVPs were produced under Akins. On top of her athletes' success on the court, Akins has taken home A-R-C Coach of the Year honors five times.

Prior to Coe, Akins spent the 2005 season as the director of volleyball operations at the University of Iowa, which followed some time as head coach of Kirkwood Community College.

Akins is a native of Waverly, Iowa, as she worked as an assistant coach at Wartburg during the 2002 season.

In her inaugural season leading the Wartburg Volleyball program, Akins stated that "This is home, it just feels right. I've had a lot of great memories here at Wartburg as a child." said at the 2025 Fall Sports Media Day on Tuesday, Aug. 26.
 
 
TABBED THIRD IN A-R-C PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Wartburg was picked third in the A-R-C preseason poll, earning one first-place vote.
 
A-R-C Preseason Coaches' Poll (Aug. 21)
Place      Team (First-place votes)       Points

1.                         Coe (6)                        62

2.                 Univ. of Dubuque (2)           53

T-3.             Nebraska Wesleyan             45

T-3.                    Wartburg (1)                 45

5.                        Central                          41

6.                         Loras                           28

7.                       Simpson                        26

8.                     Buena Vista                    15

9.                         Luther                           9