WAVERLY, Iowa -- The Wartburg College volleyball team fell to Simpson College in three sets Saturday afternoon at Levick Arena, with the Storm earning a 25-17, 25-19, 25-18 victory in American Rivers Conference play.
The Knights (15-7 overall, 2-1 A-R-C) finished with 27 kills and a .064 hitting percentage, while Simpson (13-6, 3-0 A-R-C) recorded 42 kills and hit .231.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Simpson took control early in the opening set, building an 8-3 advantage behind two kills from Brynn Roozeboom. Wartburg worked to close the gap with kills from
Anna Sash and
Kaylee Koudelka, but the Storm extended their lead to 18-9. The Knights responded with a three-point stretch highlighted by a Sash service ace and an
Ashlynn Hodges kill. Simpson maintained its advantage down the stretch, taking the first set 25-17.
Wartburg opened the second set with a strong run, scoring five consecutive points behind Sash's serve to build a 7-1 lead. Kills from Hodges and Koudelka helped fuel the early advantage, while an
Alexa Melcher service ace extended the Knights' lead to 10-4. Wartburg held a 16-13 edge before Simpson rallied to tie the set at 16-16. The Storm then scored four consecutive points to take a 20-16 lead and closed out the set 25-19.
The third set remained competitive early, with the teams tied at 5-5 before Simpson moved ahead 8-5. Wartburg responded with a run of its own, using two Simpson attack errors and a
Lucy Maassen kill to take a 10-9 lead. The teams continued to trade points, with a Hodges kill tying the set at 14-14. Simpson pulled ahead and built a 23-16 advantage before Wartburg answered with a kill from
Kruiz Ewoldt and a Sash block. The Storm closed the match with back-to-back points to secure the 25-18 set victory.
Hodges led the Knights with eight kills and added four digs.
Alexa Buhman finished with 26 assists and seven digs, extending her streak of matches with at least 26 assists to 20 consecutive contests.
Peyton Robinson recorded a team-high 13 digs as Wartburg reached at least 51 digs for the ninth consecutive match.
Gracie Hoskins also reached a season milestone, surpassing 200 digs and finishing with 206 on the year.
Sash contributed four kills, three blocks and a service ace. She has recorded at least three blocks in four consecutive matches. Wartburg totaled three blocks against Simpson, bringing its season total to 152.
UP NEXT
Wartburg returns to Levick Arena on Tuesday, Oct. 20, hosting the University of Wisconsin-Stout at 6 p.m.
