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Walz passes big milestone in MLC sweep

By Travis Rosenau 5 min read

NEW ULM - Martin Luther College was treated to more than just a three-set victory over North Central University on Saturday afternoon, it was also graced with a big milestone achievement by senior setter Ella Walz.

Walz passed 1,500 set assists for her career to help set the Knights up with a 28-26, 25-15, 25-10 sweep of the Rams in an Upper Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball match.

Walz is one of two seniors on the team to play with the Knights since their freshman season along with libero Anna Kieselhorst, who passed 1,000 digs for her career earlier this season.

With four years as a starter, Walz has been happy to share the court with many different players along the way.

"It's been fun playing with all different people and bringing in new people with us," she said.

Walz hasn't been able to rack up the set assists she has during her career by chance, it's taken many different skills and approaches.

"Just bettering the ball for my teammates and getting them a good set so they can get a kill, put it down," she said. "Just always hustling, moving, just helping them out."

MLC head coach Emma Holzhueter commended Walz for her constant leadership and ability to keep the team composed.

"She's been a starter since Day 1 as a freshman, so she has just kind of been this steady presence for us," Holzhueter said. "And her demeanor, her contribution on the team … just very steady leadership. She's a captain for us this year. ... She helps us keep an even keel, but she's a fierce competitor, so you can't let that fool you."

Walz finished the day with 13 set assists, with Kenzie Loberger capitalizing the most on them with a team-high 10 kills. Kourtney Zech also aided the Knights' attack with 11 set assists, while Kiara Humann had seven kills and four total blocks, Hannah Rimpel had five kills and four total blocks and Greta Nolte had five kills. Kieselhorst had a team-high 14 digs, while Hannah Rodmyre added four kills and four total blocks.

UNW was led by Autumn Kaczmarek and Gabbie Ruzek, who each had six kills, while Abby Rhoades had 10 set assists and Maia Scheffler had 17 digs.

The Knights and Rams traded points throughout the first set, with the Rams looking to take control late up 23-20. MLC hung around, however, tying it up at 24-all after a kill by Nolte and an attack error.

The Rams went back in front 25-24 after a service error, but a Humann kill tied it up again. Another service error had the Knights down a point, but a service error on the other end made it 26-all before back-to-back attack errors gave the Knights the win.

The Knights cleaned up their attack after that big first-set win, going from a .098 hitting percentage in that set to a .174 hitting percentage in Set 2 and a .360 hitting percentage in the third set.

Holzhueter said after a tough three-set loss to Northwestern on Friday night, it took her players a little time to get in the groove on Saturday.

"We came off a tough match [Friday] night, but we played well and played together as a team, so I think when you come in the next morning and there's just a little bit of that tiredness, you've got to get going again," she said. "I think it took us a little while to find our chemistry, especially communication wise. Once we sorted that, that win [in Set 1] put us over the top, like, 'You're right, we do know what we're doing.' I think after that, it was a big confidence boost to remind them, like, 'Remember what we can do, remember what we have done.'"

The Knights spotted the Rams a 2-0 lead in the second set before storming away with a 7-0 run to lead 7-2. During the run, Humann, Rimpel and Loberger each had a kill, while Brauer ended it with back-to-back aces.

The Knights continued to build their lead and led 20-9 after an ace from Kieselhorst, but the Rams got a 4-0 run to cut their deficit to 20-13 and keep the set within reach. That didn't last long, however, and after trading a couple of points, the Knights won the set after a service error and an attack error.

The Knights really got into the swing of it in the third set, going on a 7-0 run to lead 17-7. They closed the set on a 6-0 run, getting kills from Loberger and Rodmyre to end the match.

The Knights were hungry for a win and getting it in conference play was even sweeter for them as they moved to 2-16 overall and 1-5 in the UMAC. The win stopped a 12-match skid by MLC.

The Rams dropped to 4-9 overall and 0-6 in UMAC play.

With this being a challenging season for underclassmen-heavy Knights, Walz has kept a positive attitude and said it's key to continue playing together no matter what happens.

"Just playing together, working hard and focusing on the next thing, the next game," Walz said. "Always ready to work, ready to improve, focus on playing together and having fun every day. It's just good to stick together."

MLC hosts Bethany Lutheran College at 7 p.m. Tuesday on Breast Cancer Awareness Night.

Starting at /week.