CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- The Wartburg College volleyball team opened American Rivers Conference play with a 3-1 victory over Coe College Wednesday night at Kohawk Arena, extending its winning streak to 11 consecutive matches.
The Knights (14-5 overall, 1-0 A-R-C) took the first two sets 25-21, 25-21 before Coe (5-11 overall, 0-1 A-R-C) answered with a 26-24 third-set victory. Wartburg responded in the fourth set, closing out the match with a 25-19 win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Wartburg overcame an early deficit in the opening set after Coe jumped out to an 11-4 advantage. The Knights steadily chipped away at the margin before
Alexa Melcher's service turn sparked a four-point run that evened the set at 13-13.
Lucy Maassen's kill gave Wartburg its first lead at 14-13, and the Knights maintained the advantage from there.
Anna Sash's service ace pushed the lead to 23-18 before
Ashlynn Hodges closed the set with a kill, 25-21.
The second set featured six ties and five lead changes before Wartburg took control late. After Coe held an 18-16 advantage, the Knights rallied to tie the set at 19-19 following consecutive Coe errors.
Alexa Buhman's kill gave Wartburg the lead before
Keely Kauten and Maassen delivered three consecutive kills to put the Knights ahead 23-20. Buhman's service ace then sealed another 25-21 victory.
Coe responded in the third set, overcoming an early Wartburg advantage. The Knights led 14-9 following a Kauten kill, two Maassen kills and a Coe attack error, but the Kohawks rallied to tie the set at 18-18. Coe later held a 23-20 lead before Wartburg answered with a Maassen kill, Coe attack error and Buhman ace to even the set at 23-23. After the teams traded points to 24-24, Coe secured the final two points to force a fourth set.
Wartburg quickly established control in the fourth set, opening with a 5-1 advantage behind a
Peyton Robinson ace, a Maassen kill and two Coe attack errors. The Kohawks cut the deficit to 12-11, but the Knights answered with kills from Sash and Hodges before Koudelka's kill, a Kauten-Hodges block and another Coe attack error extended the lead to 18-13. Coe pulled within three at 18-15, but Wartburg closed the match with kills from Kauten, Maassen and Sash before a Coe service error secured the 25-19 set victory.
Maassen led the Knights with 14 kills and 15.5 points while adding three block assists. Buhman recorded 36 assists, two service aces and five digs. Robinson collected a team-high 17 digs and added a service ace.
Kauten contributed six kills and five total blocks, including one solo block, while Sash added 10 kills and three service aces.
UP NEXT
Wartburg continues its road swing Friday, Oct. 9, traveling to Mount Vernon, Iowa, to take on Cornell College at 7 p.m.
