Tigers Take First in Trinity Invitational
The Wittenberg volleyball team continues to make headlines.
The Wittenberg volleyball team continues to make headlines. The Tigers took first place in the Trinity Invitational last weekend and then won its North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinal match Tuesday against Ohio Wesleyan. The wins improved fifth-ranked Wittenberg to 25-6 overall after the Tigers won eight straight NCAC regular season matches to run their incredible seven-year win streak to 69.
In the Trinity Invitational, Wittenberg beat two ranked teams and narrowly lost to a third in the first five-game match of the Tigers' season. Wittenberg opened the tourney with a 3-1 win over Savannah College of Art & Design and followed that with a 3-1 win over sixth-ranked Mount St. Joseph. The win over the Mountie Lions was crucial as it gave the Tigers the inside track on the No. 1 ranking in the Great Lakes Region and potential home court advantage in the upcoming NCAA Division III Tournament.
The Tigers rounded out the weekend with a 3-2 defeat against ninth-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater, the same team that knocked Wittenberg out of last year's NCAA Division III Tournament en route to the school's first national championship. Wittenberg defeated the Warhawks earlier this season. Then Wittenberg defeated the host Trinity University Tigers 3-1 in the championship match and were awarded the first-place hardware based on tiebreaker criteria. Trinity was ranked No. 3 nationally heading into the weekend.
Individually, junior Kristin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) had an outstanding weekend with more than 70 kills in the four matches. She and senior Lindsay Nelson (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw), who had 22 kills in the win over Trinity, were both named to the all-tournament team. In addition, junior Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) recorded at least 50 assists in each match.
In the NCAC Tournament match against Ohio Wesleyan, the top-seeded Tigers overwhelmed the eighth-seeded Battling Bishops by a 3-0 count, with all three games decided by at least a 14-point margin. The Tigers, who have won eight of the last 10 NCAC tournament titles, including the last six consecutively, advanced to the NCAC Tournament semifinals on Friday against fourth-seeded Denison, a winner over Wooster in other quarterfinal action.
Wittenberg was in control throughout the match and never used most of its top players. Among the statistical leaders were senior Michelle Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), who had 13 digs and 10 kills, senior Jennifer Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), who had 11 digs and 10 kills, and senior Katie Preuss (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South), who finished with 21 assists and 11 digs.