LEXINGTON, Ky. – First-year head coach DeAnn Akins earned her first victory at the helm of Wartburg volleyball as the Knights opened the 2025 season with a 3-1 win over (RV) Transylvania University in the Transylvania Invitational at the Clive M. Beck Center. 

Wartburg (1-0) extended its streak to five consecutive seasons with a victory in its season opener. 

Kaylee Koudelka paced the offense with a team-high 14 kills, while Whitney Klyn and Anna Sash each contributed 11. The Knights finished with just a .172 hitting percentage compared to Transylvania's .165, in a match that featured 12 ties and eight lead changes. 
 
SET ONE (0-1) 
Transylvania opened quickly with a 2-0 lead before Peyton Robinson set up Whitney Klyn for Wartburg's first point of the season. The Pioneers built a 7-2 advantage, forcing an early Wartburg timeout. Transylvania controlled the frame with 17 kills on a blistering .390 hitting clip, while the Knights managed just eight kills and hit .121. The Pioneers took the first set, 25-15. 
 
SET TWO (1-1) 
Sash put Wartburg on the board early with her fourth kill of the match, but the Pioneers responded with a 5-0 run to go up 7-1. Back-to-back kills from Klyn sparked a 4-0 Wartburg rally to close the gap to8-6. A solo block by Leah Hayungs gave the Knights their first lead of the match, 10-9. Wartburg extended the advantage to 15-12 before closing the set on an 8-1 run to even the match with a 25-16 win. Klyn spiked six kills in the set.  
 
SET THREE (2-1) 
The third set remained tightly contested, but Wartburg never trailed after an ace from Aspen Falk gave the Knights a 7-6 lead. Key kills from Hayungs and Klyn down the stretch sealed a 25-22 victory, pushing the Knights ahead 2-1. Wartburg posted its best offensive set of the night, hitting .244 with 16 kills. 
 
SET FOUR (3-1) 
Wartburg capitalized on a pair of early Pioneer errors to take a quick lead, but Transylvania answered with a strong scoring run to eventually go ahead 18-11. The Pioneers reached set point at 24-20, but the Knights staged a dramatic rally, scoring six straight points to complete the comeback. Liv Anderson delivered the match-clinching kill as Wartburg secured the 26-24 victory to close out the season opener in four sets. 
 
UP NEXT 
The Knights continue play at the Transylvania Invitational on Saturday, August 30, with matches against Olivet at 9 a.m. and Berry (Ga.) at 2 p.m. 
 
NOTES 
Koudelka led all hitters with 14 kills, her highest total since tying her career-best against Coe on Nov. 14, 2024...Sash matched her career-high with 11 kills...Klyn recorded her second career double-double with 11 kills and 19 digs...The victory marked Akins' first win as Wartburg's head coach...Wartburg has now won its season opener in five straight seasons.