Wartburg Downs Willamette to Start Second Day of Bethel Invitational

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director

ARDEN HILLS, Minn. -- Three Wartburg College (Iowa) players earned eight or more kills and the Knights amassed 72 digs to defeat Willamette University, 3-0, in an early morning match at the Bethel Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 3. Lizzy Blough led the Knights with 10 kills.

Wartburg, which received votes in the NCAA Division III Preseason Poll released by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), but was not in the Top 25, won the match, 25-18, 25-20, 25-11. The Knights improved to 3-0, while Willamette fell to 0-3.

Blough was followed on Wartburg's offensive chart by Claire Willenbring and Josie Esser, each with eight kills. The Knights amassed 41 kills overall. Defensively, Wartburg recorded 4.0 team total blocks and received double-digit digs from five players. Blough topped the Knights with 13 digs.

Alexa Dowdell (Sr., MH/OPP, Mililani, HI/Maryknoll HS) earned seven kills for the Bearcats. Kaylen Higa (So., LIB/DS, Mililani, HI/Punahou School) recorded 26 digs to finish just one dig short of her career high set against Pacific Lutheran University on Oct. 2, 2015 and versus Whitworth University on Nov. 6, 2015.

In three matches this season, Higa has accumulated 67 digs. She is averaging 7.44 digs per set.

Against Wartburg on Saturday, Willamette earned 5.0 team total blocks. Taylor Lum (Sr., MH/OH, Honolulu, HI/Maryknoll HS) was credited with three block assists, while Dowdell, Lauren Stiles (Fr., OH, Altadena, CA/Flintridge Preparatory School) and Madison Haley (Fr., MH/OPP, Truckee, CA/Tahoe Truckee HS) each achieved two block assists.

Three consecutive attacking errors by Wartburg allowed Willamette to take a 3-0 lead in the first set. Dowdell followed up with a kill before the Knights earned their first point of the match. WU then tacked on three of the next four points to extend the Bearcats' lead to 7-2.

The Knights used an 8-3 run to catch the Bearcats at 10-10. A kill by Abby Staebell pushed Wartburg in front, 11-10. The teams were tied at 12-12 when Wartburg took four points in a row for a 16-12 lead. Three of the points were scored on kills, two by Josie Esser and one by Staebell.

WU battled back within 19-16 on an attacking error by Esser, but the Knights won the next three rallies for a 21-16 advantage on their way to a 25-18 win.

Wartburg moved out to a 7-4 lead in the second set. The Bearcats tied the score at 8-8 on an attacking error by Blough. The teams were tied four times over the next eight points, with WU holding three one-point leads during that span.

The Knights took a 13-12 lead and then added another point on a service ace by Blough. The Bearcats trailed the remainder of the set, but were within 18-15 and 22-19, before falling 25-20.

A strong start in the third set helped Wartburg claim the overall victory. The Knights led 7-3 and 12-4, and hit .257 during the set. Willenbring and Staebell each earned three kills. Haley registered three kills and hit .500 for the Bearcats. Wartburg took the set, 25-11.

The Bearcats will play again on Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT/12 p.m. PDT when they take on the University of Wisconsin-Superior. UW-Superior lost to Wartburg, 3-0, and to Wheaton College (Ill.), 3-1, on Friday. The Yellowjackets fell to Nebraska Wesleyan University in a 12 p.m. CDT match on Saturday, 3-0.