Wittenberg Battles Past Challenge From Hope

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers made it a perfect 4-0 for the weekend in the first-ever Border Battle, featuring the top teams from Michigan and Ohio. In leading the state of Ohio to a decisive 14-2 record over the weekend, the Tigers put an exclamation point on things with a 3-0 win over Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association leader Hope on Saturday.

In the win over Hope, which owned one of the two Michigan school wins in the Border Battle, Wittenberg was pushed a little bit for the first time in the weekend. After cruising to a 30-20 win in Game 1, Hope held five-point leads midway through each of the next two games. However, in each case, the Tigers rallied to tie it at 25-25 and then pushed on to narrow victories of 31-29 and 33-31.

Statistically, Wittenberg was led by sophomore outside hitter Jan Kehres, who finished with a double-double of 12 kills and 14 digs. Another fine all-around performance was recorded by sophomore outside hitter Emily Bell, who finished with eight kills and 12 digs. Freshman libero Laura Fender chipped in with 17 digs, sophomore setter Sarah Matesich was key with 28 assists and senior outside hitter Linda Young rounded things out with an 11-kill, two-ace performance.