WAVERLY, Iowa -- The Wartburg College volleyball team (11-5 overall) extended its winning ways Saturday at the Knights Triangular, earning a pair of 3-0 victories over Saint Mary's (Minn.) and Concordia Wisconsin.
The Knights' eighth-straight sweep marks their longest streak of consecutive sweeps since the 2000 season, when Wartburg recorded 12 in a row.
Wartburg opened the day with a 25-18, 25-14, 25-19 sweep of Saint Mary's before closing the day with a 25-9, 25-21, 25-14 victory over Concordia Wisconsin.Â
GAME ONE | Saint Mary's (Minn.)
Saint Mary's (8-6) jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set before Wartburg quickly answered.
Anna Sash recorded a pair of kills, while
Keely Kauten and
Kaylee Koudelka teamed up for a block before Sash added back-to-back service aces to give the Knights a 7-6 advantage.
After the teams battled to a 12-12 tie, Wartburg used a four-point run to take control. Sash and
Alexa Buhman each contributed during the run, which helped the Knights build a 16-12 lead. Saint Mary's pulled within 20-18, but Wartburg closed the set with the final five points.
Aspen Falk added a service ace, while
Ashlynn Hodges recorded two kills in the closing stretch to secure the 25-18 win.
The Knights carried the momentum into the second set, scoring four of the first five points. Wartburg then won seven of the next eight rallies to open a 13-4 advantage. Saint Mary's made a late push, but the Knights maintained control and closed the set, 25-14.
Wartburg trailed 11-8 in the third before rallying to even the set at 14-14. The Knights then erupted for nine consecutive points with Buhman at the service line. The run featured three Buhman aces and kills from Koudelka, Sash and Maassen as Wartburg finished off the sweep with a 25-19 victory.
Sash led the Knights with 12 kills while hitting .435 and added three aces and three blocks. Buhman tallied 29 assists, five aces and 13 digs, while Koudelka contributed six kills and a team-high four blocks.
GAME TWO | Concordia Wisconsin
Wartburg wasted little time taking control against Concordia Wisconsin (8-5), scoring the first five points of the opening set. Sash, Hodges and Koudelka each contributed during the early run before the Knights extended their lead to 9-2.
Wartburg then rattled off eight consecutive points, highlighted by a strong service run from
Alexa Melcher, to take a 21-3 advantage. Concordia Wisconsin managed a late push, but Sash's final kill sealed the 25-9 opening-set victory.
The second set featured a back-and-forth start before Wartburg established a 7-3 lead. Kills from Hodges and Sash helped the Knights maintain their advantage, and a six-point run later pushed Wartburg ahead 20-15.
Concordia Wisconsin closed the gap to 23-21, but Kauten delivered a kill to set up match point before Sash finished the set with another kill for a 25-21 win.
Concordia Wisconsin scored the first two points of the third set, but Wartburg quickly responded with six straight points behind the serving of
Gracie Hoskins. The Knights extended their lead to 15-8 and continued to apply pressure offensively, closing out the sweep with a 25-14 victory.
Hodges paced Wartburg with 12 kills and reached 200 kills for the season. Sash added 10 kills while hitting .474 and recorded two aces. Buhman finished with 34 assists, while Kauten posted eight kills on .571 hitting and a season-high 10 points.
UP NEXT
The Knights are back in action again at home, hosting the Octoberfest Triangular on Saturday, October 3.
