Friday, Aug. 29 – Transylvania Invite | Lexington, Kent. | Clive M. Beck Center 
Wartburg vs. (RV) Transylvania University | 12:30 p.m. (CT) 
 
Saturday, Aug. 30 – Transylvania Invite | Lexington, Kent. | Clive M. Beck Center 
(G1) Wartburg vs. University of Olivet | 9 a.m. (CT) 
(G2) Wartburg vs. (RV) Berry College (Ga.) | 2 p.m. (CT) 
 
The Wartburg College volleyball team will open its 2025 season at the Transylvania Invite in Lexington, Kent., beginning Friday, Aug. 29, at the Clive M. Beck Center. The Knights will face host Transylvania University at 12:30 p.m., before returning to action Saturday for a doubleheader against Olivet (9 a.m.) and Berry (Ga.) (2 p.m.). Times are listed as CT. 

The Knights have opened their past four seasons with a victory.
 
TRANSYLVANIA INVITE 
Teams attending: Berry College (Ga.), Wittenberg, Wartburg, Olivet, Transylvania

Schedule (All times CT) 
    Friday, Aug. 29: 
10 AM – Berry vs. Wittenberg 
12:30 PM – Wartburg vs. Transylvania 
3 PM – Olivet vs. Wittenberg 
5:30 PM – Transylvania vs. Berry 

Saturday, Aug. 30: 
9 AM – Wartburg vs. Olivet 
11:30 PM – Transylvania vs. Wittenberg 
2 PM – Wartburg vs. Berry 
4:30 PM – Transylvania vs. Olivet 
 
ABOUT THE KNIGHTS 
    The Knights return key starters senior Sophie Sedgwick, senior Liv Anderson, and junior Peyton Robinson to lead a talented core, while a promising sophomore class continues to push for larger roles. The non-conference slate will test the Orange and Black early, featuring nationally recognized opponents in Transylvania and Berry. Following the opening invitational, Wartburg will compete at the St. Kate's Tournament (St. Paul, Minn.), the Loras Tournament, and the St. Olaf/Carleton Invite, before hosting the Wartburg Invitational Sept. 26–27. The Knights then begin a competitive A-R-C schedule beginning on Sept. 23 in Levick Arena. 
 
LAST SEASON 
    The Knights finished the 2024 campaign with an 18-12 overall record and a 5-3 mark in American Rivers Conference play. Wartburg set a program record with four CSC Academic All-District honorees and secured its 11th consecutive AVCA Team Academic Award. Statistically, the Orange and Black ranked 49th nationally in team assists (1,331) and 58th in kills (1,423). Individually, Peyton Robinson finished fifth in the A-R-C with 518 digs. 
Wartburg ranked within the top 50 in team assists (1,331), which finished No. 3 in the A-R-C. Peyton Robinson returns as a key piece to the lineup. Robinson ranked No. 3 in the A-R-C in total digs (518) and No. 5 in digs per set (4.35) during the 2024 season.  
 
WARTBURG'S LAST FOUR SEASON-OPENERS 
W, 3-2 vs. Gustavus – Sept. 3, 2021 
W, 3-0 vs. Ripon – Sept. 2, 2022 
W, 3-1 vs. Hardin Simmons – Sept. 1, 2023 
W, 3-1 vs. Concordia (Texas) - Aug. 30, 2024  
 
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. OPPONENTS 
Transylvania University 
    Wartburg and Transylvania will see just its third matchup in all-time history, where the Knights hold a 2-0 series lead.  
The Pioneers ended last season with a 22-8 overall record, earning their sixth consecutive HCAC Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.  
 
W, 3-1 – Aug. 30, 2008 
W, 3-0 – Oct. 19, 2012 
 
University of Olivet 
    The Knights then square up with the Comets on Saturday, where they will meet for the first time since the 1997 season. Wartburg came out on top with a sweep against Olivet.  
The Comets concluded 2024 with a 13-13 overall record.  
 
W, 3-0 – Oct. 25, 1997 
 
Berry College (Ga.) 
    Wartburg wraps up the Transylvania Invite with a match with Berry College (Ga.), where they haven't met since Sept. 2, 2011. The Orange and Black defeated the Vikings in four sets.  
Berry looks to make a strong push during the 2025 season, receiving votes in the latest AVCA Preseason coaches' poll. The Vikings secured their fourth-consecutive Southern Athletic Association (SAA) Tournament championship last season, earning an auto bid to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced to the second round after defeating Whitworth University, 3-1.  
 
W, 3-1 – Sept. 2, 2011 
 
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 WARTBURG 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. 
 
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