Simpson sweeps Wartburg in IIAC Championship
INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson volleyball won its sixth Iowa Conference Tournament Championship in impressive fashion, blanking Wartburg 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-18) Saturday afternoon at Cowles Fieldhouse.
With the win, Simpson (21-13) earned a sweep of the Iowa Conference titles, winning both the regular season and tournament championship. The win marks the Storm's sixth IIAC Tournament Championship, as Simpson earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament – the seventh in program history and the third in the last four years.
"Our girls never cease to amaze me," head coach Lana Smith said. "We've played steady all year and had a great balanced attack, and today was a perfect example of that balanced attack."
The Storm hit .279 in the match, including a blistering .362 in the decisive third set. Lara Gillespie slapped a game-high 16 kills and had 14 digs, followed by Whitney Oviatt and Amy Schuster with 12 kills a-piece. Schuster's .364 hitting percentage was tops for the Storm, as she committed only four errors on the attack.
"The last few times out I know Amy hasn't played as well as she's wanted to," Smith said. "But she stepped up today at the right time."
Tara Christensen distributed a game-high 48 assists and Brittany Friesth charted 15 digs.
Britlyn Sieck led the Knights (18-17) with eight kills, while Britney Hermsen added 10 digs and a team-high 19 assists. Channing Merchant posted a team-high 12 digs.
The Simpson defense held the Knights to a .123 hitting percentage.
The Storm will know no later than 10:00 a.m. Monday morning who they face and where on the map they will make their seventh NCAA Division III appearance. Washington University in St. Louis and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh are the closest institutions who received the NCAA's "local" regional site opportunities. Going into the weekend, Simpson was ranked No. 7 in the Central Region.
You can watch the NCAA Division III Selection Show live at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 9 on ncaa.com.
