Friday, Oct. 10 | Grinnell, IA | Darby Gymnasium
Wartburg vs. Grinnell | 6 PM
WATCH | LIVE STATS
 
The Wartburg College volleyball team (12-6 overall) heads to Grinnell, Iowa this weekend for a non-conference bout with the Grinnell College Pioneers (7-10, 3-0 MWC).
 
The Knights will play a single match on Friday, Oct. 10, beginning at 6 p.m., inside the Darby Gymnasium.
 
KNIGHTS
Record: 12-6, 3-1 A-R-C
Last Game: W, 3-0 at Buena Vista University
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: DeAnn Akins (1st Season) | 12-6 overall
All-time vs. Grinnell: 24-1
 
PIONEERS
Record: 7-10, 3-0 MWC
Last Game: W, 3-1 at Lawrence University
Rankings: N/A
Head Coach: Eric Ragan (9th Season) | 137-92 overall
 
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS
Wartburg begins the week with a 12-6 record after earning a victory in an American Rivers Conference matchup with Buena Vista University, 3-0, in Storm Lake, Iowa. Sophomore middle hitter Anna Sash leads the Knights with 171 kills, followed closely by Kaylee Koudelka with 155. Defensively, Peyton Robinson has recorded a team-best 309 digs, while setter Sophie Sedgwick has tallied 361 assists.

Sash leads the nation with 79 total blocks, the highest mark in the league to date. Aspen Falk paces the team in service aces (31), followed closely by Sedgwick (25).

As a team, the Knights average 2.16 aces per set to tally the second-most in the A-R-C. On the defensive end, Wartburg digs out 16.48 per set, the second-best mark in the conference, and 1,104 as a team to sit third. With Sash leading the nation in blocks, as a team the Knights sit No. 28 in the nation and third in the conference with 131.0 total blocks. 
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. OPPONENTS
Grinnell College

 Wartburg and Grinnell have faced 25 times, dating back to 1980. The Knights have fashioned a 24-1 record in the previous matchups, including ten straight victories. The Pioneers and Knights last met in September of 2024, in which Wartburg recorded a 3-1 victory. The only time that the Pioneers took down the Knights dates to Sept. 22, 1999, in four sets.

9/7/00 – W, 3-1
10/6/00 – W, 3-0
9/4/12 – W, 3-0
9/21/18 – W, 3-0
9/14/19 – W, 3-1
9/7/21 – W, 3-1
9/27/22 – W, 3-0
9/12/23 – W, 3-1
9/30/23 – W, 3-0
09/24/24 – W, 3-1

Grinnell enters the matchup at 7-10 overall. Their last two matchups the Pioneers picked up a pair of Midwest Conference victories against Lake Forest College (3-0) and Lawrence University (3-1).
 
SASH PICKS UP A-R-C DEFENSIVE POTW HONOR
Still leading the nation with 79 blocks, Sash picked up Wartburg's first American Rivers Conference Player of the Week award on Sept. 29. Sash recorded seven blocks against Carthage another six against Augsburg.

In recent action, Sash tallied a career-high 11 rejections against Luther.
 
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.
 
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 INAUGURAL 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.
 
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