WAVERLY, Iowa — The Wartburg College volleyball team (2-4 overall) dropped its home opener to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (2-2), 3-1, Wednesday night at Levick Arena. The Pioneers earned the victory by set scores of 25-16, 25-21, 21-25 and 26-24.
Wartburg jumped to an early 4-1 lead in the opening set behind kills from
Anna Sash and
Ashlynn Hodges, along with an
Alexa Melcher service ace. UW-Platteville responded by tying the set at 5-5 before building a 20-12 advantage. Hodges recorded five kills in the opening frame, but the Pioneers claimed the set, 25-16.
The Knights made a push in the second set after falling behind 14-10, scoring six consecutive points to take a 16-14 lead. Hodges started the run with a kill, while
Aspen Falk served the next five points.
Keely Kauten contributed a block and a kill during the stretch before teaming with
Alexa Buhman on another block. Hodges and Falk capped the run with consecutive points. With the score tied at 20-20, however, UW-Platteville won five of the final six rallies to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-21 set victory.
Wartburg responded in the third set, closing on a 4-0 run to earn a 25-21 victory. With the score tied at 21-21, Hodges delivered a kill before Falk recorded back-to-back service aces to help secure the set. Earlier in the frame, the Knights used a 4-0 run to turn a 13-12 advantage into a 17-12 lead, highlighted by a Sash service ace and Kauten kill. Buhman later added a service ace as Wartburg extended its lead to 19-13. Sash finished the match with a season-high 12 kills.
In the fourth set, Wartburg used a strong serving stretch from
Peyton Robinson to turn an early 2-1 deficit into a 6-1 lead. Hodges recorded two kills during the four-point run, both assisted by Buhman. The Knights later held a 23-21 advantage following a Hodges service ace, but UW-Platteville rallied to take a 24-23 lead. Sash answered with a kill to even the set at 24-24 before the Pioneers claimed the final two points to secure the 26-24 victory.
Hodges led the Knights with a career-best 21 kills while hitting .313 and totaling a career-high 23.0 points. Buhman finished with 41 assists, 13 digs, one service ace and one block assist. Robinson added 19 digs, three assists and a service ace, extending her streak to five consecutive matches with at least 19 digs. She also surpassed 100 digs on the season with 116.
Falk contributed five service aces and five digs, while Kauten added a strong presence at the net throughout the match.
Up next, Wartburg returns to action Friday, Sept. 11, hosting the Wartburg Invite at Levick Arena. The Knights face UW-Stout at 3 p.m. before taking on Gustavus Adolphus at 7 p.m.
