Wednesday, Oct. 22 | Waverly, IA | Levick Arena
Wartburg vs. Bethel | 7 PM
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
Saturday, Oct. 25 | Lincoln, NE | Snyder Arena
Wartburg vs. Nebraska Wesleyan | 11 AM
WATCH | LIVE STATS

The Wartburg College volleyball team (14-7 overall) plays their final home game this week with a non-conference bout with the Bethel Royals on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. before traveling to Lincoln, NE, for a conference matchup with the Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves on Oct. 25 at 11 a.m.

KNIGHTS
Record: 14-7, 4-2 ARC
Last Game: L, 0-3 vs Central College
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: DeAnn Akins (1st Season) | 14-7 overall
All-time vs. Bethel: 16-13
All-time vs. Nebraska Wesleyan: 17-17-1

ROYALS
Record: 9-8, 3-2 MIAC
Last Game: L, 0-3 vs Gustavus Adolphus College
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: Gretchen Hunt (25th Season) | 433-286 overall

PRAIRIE WOLVES
Record: 13-7, 2-3 ARC
Last Game: W, 0-3 at Dubuque University
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: Rayna Cain (14th Season) | 207-157 overall

 
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
Wartburg begins the week with a 14-7 record after splitting in a pair of American Rivers Conference matchups with Simpson College (3-0) and Central College (0-3) at Levick Arena. Sophomore middle hitter Anna Sash leads the Knights with 203 kills, followed closely by Kaylee Koudelka with 178. Defensively, Peyton Robinson has recorded a team-best 348 digs, while setter Sophie Sedgwick has tallied 411 assists.

Sash leads the American Rivers Conference with 97 total blocks, the highest mark in the league to date and a total that ranks third in the nation. Aspen Falk and Robinson pace the team in service aces (31), followed closely by Whitney Klyn (27).
 
WHERE WARTBURG RANKS AMONG A-R-C

• First in Team Blocks per set (2.09)
• First in Service Aces per set (2.16)
• Sash is first in blocks (97), second in hitting percentage (.332) and fourth in points per set (3.82)
• Robinson is third in digs (348).

SASH PICKS UP SECOND A-R-C DEFENSIVE POTW HONOR
Third in the nation with 97 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
Bethel University
Wartburg holds the all-time series over Bethel, 16-13 dating back to 1984. The series has been competitive, as both teams have recorded five wins each in the last ten matches. The Royals and the Knights went to five sets, as Wartburg squeaked by with the 3-2 victory in October of last year. The last time that Bethel defeated Wartburg was in 2023, when they took a 3-1 victory.

9/3/16 – L, 1-3
10/8/16 – W, 3-1
8/31/18 – W, 3-1
9/25/18 – L, 1-3
9/20/19 – L, 2-3
10/22/19 – W, 3-0
10/26/21 – W, 3-1
09/17/22 – L, 0-3
10/13/23 – L, 1-3
10/29/24 – W, 3-2

Bethel enters the match at 9-8 overall and coming off a stretch of five straight conference matchups in the MIAC. Their last match they took on Gustavus Adolphus, in which they were handed a 0-3 loss.

Nebraska Wesleyan University
Wartburg and Nebraska Wesleyan are tied at 17-17 (with one tie) in the all-time series. Wartburg has won nine out of the last ten, with that loss coming in October of 2023, when they were swept. The last times Wartburg faced Nebraska Wesleyan was last October, in which Wartburg took the match 3-2.

10/1/16 – W, 3-0
9/30/17 – W, 3-1
9/29/18 – W, 3-0
10/5/19 – W, 3-0
11/7/19 – W, 3-1
3/27/20 – W, 3-2
10/2/21 – W, 3-0
10/01/22 – W, 3-0
10/21/23 – L, 0-3
10/26/24 – W, 3-2

Nebraska Wesleyan enters the week at 13-7 overall with a 2-3 record in the American Rivers Conference. Their last match they traveled to Dubuque and sent the match to five sets before falling, 3-2. Before hosting Wartburg, the Prairie Wolves will host Doane University on Oct. 22.
 
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), Brooklyn Biddle (Lowden, Iowa/Calamus-Wheatland), 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