Norse Battle Knights - Come Up Short
Sept. 18, 2007
Luther and Wartburg squared off in an Iowa Conference match here in the Regents Center this evening. The Knights spoiled first year Head Coach Jane Gibbs home debut, posting a 3-0 victory. The wins did come easy for Wartburg as Luther battled all night despite dropping games by score of 31-29, 30-26 and 30-26. This marked the third time these two teams had met this season. Luther won the first contest 3-2 at the St. Mary's University Sugar Loaf Classic. Wartburg then posted a 3-1 victory one day later after pool play at this same tournament.
Leah Sikora led the Norse offensive attack with a match high 15 kills. Ally Czechowicz and Abby Lahr were next in this category with nine and eight respectively. Molly Morrissey dished out 23 assists, while Heather Hoffman added 15. Gracye Hamlin and Lahr led the defensive efforts in digs. Hamlin was credited with 20 and Lahr 16.
Three-time all-conference honoree Ashley Rodgers paced the Knights attack with 11 kills. Kelsey Steffens, Lindsay Schneider and Liz Plum were all credited with nine. Rachel Pirkl, playing in her first match of the season, dished out 35 assists.
The loss drops Luther's Iowa Conference record to 1-2, 6-6 overall. Wartburg is now 2-1 in league play, 5-6 overall.
Luther will host the two-day Luther Invitational this Friday and Saturday. The eight-team field will begin play on Friday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. Luther is scheduled to play St. Mary's University at 4:00 p.m. and UM-Morris at 8:00 p.m.
