Blackburn Volleyball won their conference match against the Iowa Wesleyan Tigers on Wednesday, March 10th. The game went to four sets, and it was also senior night for the Beavers. The scores of the four sets are as follows:

Set 1: Blackburn 25, Iowa Wesleyan 17

Set 2: Blackburn 17, Iowa Wesleyan 25

Set 3: Blackburn 25, Iowa Wesleyan 18

Set 4: Blackburn 28, Iowa Wesleyan 26

Blackburn honored lone senior Kaitlyn Wiegand tonight. Entering tonight's matchup, Wiegand had a total of 1,937 attacks, 584 kills, 276 digs and 168 blocks. She currently sits in second place in Blackburn's record books for most kills, and fifth for most blocks in a career.

In the first set, Holly Heuerman opened the scoring with a service ace. Blackburn then took off on an offensive run, eventually leading to a timeout from Iowa Wesleyan when the score was 15-8. Kaitlyn Wiegand kept the pressure on by collecting multiple kills after the timeout. This led to Iowa Wesleyan calling their second timeout when the score was 22-11 Blackburn. After the timeout, Iowa Wesleyan scored four straight points. However, Elizabeth Bowyer obtained two kills, giving Blackburn a 24-15 lead. A service error by Iowa Wesleyan ended the set.

In the second set, Iowa Wesleyan jumped out to an early 5-1 lead. Elizabeth Bowyer and Eitzenhefer both obtained kills to tie the set at 5. Sabrina Kelsey then served an ace that gave Blackburn a 6-5 lead, followed by another ace. However, momentum began to build for Iowa Wesleyan, and eventually the score was 14-9. This forced Blackburn to take their first timeout. Coming off the break, Blackburn was able to shorten the lead to just one point. However, Iowa Wesleyan would not let up, and soon enough the score was 20-17. Blackburn took their second timeout, giving Iowa Wesleyan more momentum. Multiple errors committed by the Beavers following the timeout gave Iowa Wesleyan a 23-18 lead. A service ace followed by a solo block won the set for the Tigers. 

In the third set, Heuerman repeated with an ace to begin the scoring. Kaitlyn Wiegand followed by obtaining a solo block that gave the Beavers a quick 2-0 lead. This gave the Beavers energy to extend the lead to 8-3. Iowa Wesleyan was forced to take a timeout when the score was 10-3, Blackburn leading. Iowa Wesleyan had also committed multiple errors that led to this timeout. After the break, Elizabeth Bowyer obtained a hard kill that gave the Beavers an 11-3 lead. The Tigers fought back however, and soon the score was 11-6. The Tigers gained a little bit of momentum due to reception erros by Blackburn, and eventually the score was 13-10. Blackburn took their first timeout when the score was 13-11, Blackburn leading. Following the timeout, Blackburn went on a 5-1 run, making the score 18-12. Elizabeth Bowyer came out of the timeout and obtained multiple kills, extending Blackburn's lead. A service error by the Tigers ended the set.

In the fourth set, Blackburn took a 3-1 lead, thanks to a pair of kills, followed by an ace from Lucy Magnussen. Kaitlyn Wiegand followed by obtaining a kill. Errors committed by the Tigers gave Blackburn a 6-2 lead. After the Beavers obtained two more kills, Iowa Wesleyan took their first timeout. However, the momentum did not let up for the Beavers following the break, as Blackburn stretched their lead to 10-2. The Tigers would not let up however, and eventually they reduced the lead to just 4, when the score was 13-9. Emilie King was able to tally two consecutive kills, followed by a service ace from Amanda Swedberg. This gave Blackburn a 16-9 lead. However, the Tigers would go on a 7-0 run, eventually making the score 16-16. Blackburn was forced to take their first timeout, and coming out of the break, Emilie King struck again with another kill. However, the Tigers would continue to fight back, tying the game again at 17. The set began to feature multiple tie scores and lead changes at the end. After several rallies back and forth, the score was 25-24, Iowa Wesleyan leading. This forced Blackburn to take their second timeout of the set. Elizabeth Bowyer obtained a key kill for the Beavers after the timeout, tying the game. A kill by the Tigers gave them a 26-25 lead. Emilie King tied the game with a kill on the next rally. Amanda Swedberg then obtained a service ace, giving Blackburn a 27-26 lead. An attack error by the Tigers ended the match.

Elizabeth Bowyer led the Beavers in kills, tallying 14. Kaitlyn Wiegand followed close behind with twelve of her own, and Lucy Magnussen finished with five. Wiegand had 29 total attacks, and Bowyer tallied 43. As a team, Blackburn had 46 kills, and 167 total attacks. Autumn Wilson led in assists, racking up 19. Sabrina Kelsey followed close behind with 18. Amanda Swedberg managed to obtain four service aces, which led the team. The Beavers finished with thirteen aces as a team. 

The Tigers were led offensively by Malieokekai DaMate, who racked up an impressive 17 kills. Emily Gehring finished with nine of her own. The Tigers as a team had 41 kills, 179 total attacks, and nine service aces. DaMate was responsible for three of those nine aces.

Defensively, Blackburn was led by Amanda Swedberg. She totaled 23 digs in the match. Holly Heuereman finished close behind with 22, and Sabrina Kelsey tallied 15. Blackburn as a team racked up 98 digs. Kaitlyn Wiegand was responsible for the only solo block for the Beavers. Swedberg totaled 31 service receptions, and Heuerman finished with 15. Karlee Herman helped the Beavers as well by obtaining 14 of her own service receptions.

Iowa Wesleyan was led defensively by Jenna Murphy. She totaled 25 digs, as well as 38 service receptions. Murphy was also responsible for two service aces in the match, as well as eleven assists. DaMate finished with 28 service receptions and eleven digs, while Lindsay Fernandez racked up 16 digs. Leamaris Fuentes tallied 14 digs, as well as two aces of her own.

With this game, Blackburn moves to an overall record of 4-5. Their next matchup will be on Saturday, March 13th. The Beavers will travel to Eureka, Illinois to take on conference rival Eureka College. The game is set to start at 12:00 p.m.