Tigers Drop Tough Battle To So. Virginia

Buena Vista, Va. – The Wittenberg men's volleyball team continued their Spring Break road trip, taking on Southern Virginia University, falling to the Knights 3-0 (25-21, 24-26, 25-23, 25-18). Wittenberg battled the nationally ranked Knights in all four sets, taking the No. 8 team in the nation down to the wire in each set, compiling a .221 hitting percentage on the night. Jackson Tyler led the Wittenberg attack, logging 12 kills on 24 attack attempts with just one error, tallying a team-high .458 attacking percentage.

Match Breakdown

Wittenberg opened the match, logging a .095 kill percentage, planting eight kills on 21 attack attempts. The two sides battled back and forth, as neither side was unable to capture a significant advantage. Wittenberg went up 14-11, before So. Virginia came racing back to regain the lead at 20-16 and holding on to secure the first set win. The Tigers bounced back to take the second set from the Knights, 26-24. Wittenberg tallied 11 kills on 30 attack attempts for a .267 attacking percentage. It was once again a battle for the lead through the early going, as the two sides traded points back and forth, before Wittenberg was able to take advantage of back-to-back So. Virginia errors to end the set. So. Virginia came back in the third set to take the early lead over the Tigers, as Wittenberg battled to bring the match back to even at 14-14. The two sides would once again trade points heading for the home stretch, as the Knights would go on to seal the 25-23 win. So. Virginia would take the final set to seal the match, while Wittenberg tallied a .154 attacking percentage with eight kills on 26 total attack attempts.

Who Stood Out

Ashton Sellers added 11 kills to the Wittenberg total, taking 26 attempts, adding three blocks and two digs. Deion Woodson provided seven kills on 19 attempts, finishing with five digs and two blocks on the night. Ross Russell (20) and Noah Wissel (11) contributed 21 of the 37 Wittenberg assists on the night, as each finished with five digs apiece.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will close out their road trip with a trip to Charleston (W.V.) on Saturday, Mar. 6 at 7:00 PM. The Tigers return home on Saturday, Mar. 23 for two AMCC matches, starting with the Terriers of Hiram College at 11:00 AM followed by a match against the Golden Tornados of Geneva College at 3:00 PM.