Wittenberg Hosts Second Invitational Volleyball Tournament of 2003 Season

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg University volleyball team hosts its annual Wittenberg Invitational this weekend, featuring the usual array of high-quality competition. Eight teams will compete over a two-day span, beginning at 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, and winding up with championship and third-place matches at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27. The teams will compete on two courts in Wittenberg's HPER Center.

Along with the host Tigers, competing in this year's Wittenberg Invitational are Calvin, Defiance, Hope, Ohio Northern, Thomas More, Ithaca and Franklin. That represents eight teams from four states, stretching from Indiana to New York. Wittenberg is ranked No. 6 in the nation in the American Volleyball Coaches Association poll, while Ohio Northern is ranked No. 13.

"I'm thrilled to host such a competitive tournament," said first-year Wittenberg Head Coach Paco Labrador. "It's always fun for teams from a variety of conferences and states to get together and compete. Many teams have traveled quite a long way to be here, and I'm sure this tournament will provide each team with a great opportunity to play elite competition."

The Tigers head into the weekend with a 9-4 record, including a perfect 3-0 mark in the North Coast Athletic Conference. Wittenberg, which has won six straight NCAC regular season and tournament championships and has made seven straight appearances in the NCAA Division III Tournament, is the preseason favorite in the 2003 conference race. Three of the Tigers' losses so far this season have come to teams ranked in the top eight in the nation.

Every team in the Wittenberg Invitational has at least a .500 record. Ohio Northern, a perennial NCAA Division III Tournament qualifier, is 11-4 after a key early-season Ohio Athletic Conference win over Mount Union. Calvin is one of the top teams in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association every year and comes in with an 11-2 record. Hope is second in the MIAA currently with a mark of 8-4 overall. Ithaca is off to a 12-4 start to the season. Defiance is 11-0 in 2003 and recently extended its win streak to 15 matches dating back to the 2002 season. Franklin, which is coming off a 26-8 record in 2002, is 7-6 so far in 2003. Rounding things out, Thomas More comes in with an 8-8 record. 

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