Wittenberg Volleyball Hosts Fifth Annual Border Battle, Raises Money For Service Projects In Lesotho, Africa

Leslie Clark '10

Springfield, Ohio — The Wittenberg University volleyball team, ranked 12th in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division III poll, hosts its fifth annual Border Battle Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18-19. For the second straight year, the event will have a global awareness theme, with a fundraising effort to benefit children of the impoverished African kingdom of Lesotho.

The Border Battle, which annually features four of the top NCAA Division III teams from Ohio against four of the top teams from Michigan in a unique round robin format, has been a measuring stick for top Great Lakes Region teams in recent years. The event has also had a community service component each year as participants have raised money for Hurricane Katrina victims, promoted breast cancer awareness and encouraged energy conservation in previous years.

"The Border Battle is just plain fun. Players on every team like to join forces with their rivals," said Wittenberg Head Coach Paco Labrador. "It's neat to see the in-state team bonding, especially when bragging rights are on the line. At the same time, the coaches are all wonderful people who run classy programs and who embrace the themes each year."

Emily Ellermann, class of 2010 from Littleton, Colo., and former Tiger volleyball player Becca Zajac, class of 2011 from Livonia, Mich., are working as interns in the Wittenberg Center for Applied Management (WittCAM) this semester. They are working on "Wittenberg in Africa: The Lesotho Project," which has been organized to raise money for a 2011 trip to the Lesotho, the site of Wittenberg community service projects in four of the last six years.

The Border Battle will be the first fundraising event for the project. Coaches and players have been asked to give money, and a competition between parents/supporters of the players on the teams will take place throughout the weekend. Donation buckets labeled for each team in the tournament will be set out near the entrance to Pam Evans Smith Arena in the HPER Center, where the matches will take pace. Money raised will go to the Leratong Orphan Scholarship Fund, which provides children in Roma, Lesotho, uniforms, school supplies and tuition to attend private schools.

Two groups of Wittenberg students, faculty and staff members participated in the latest community services trips to Lesotho in May and June 2009. Led by Wittenberg Associate Professor of History Scott Rosenberg, travelers assisted local communities through personal interaction and the expansion of community resources, including construction of a community center, erecting playground equipment for a preschool and painting classrooms at a school for orphans.

In addition to their community service activities, trip participants interacted with children in an HIV clinic to see first-hand the devastating disease that afflicts 24-30 percent of the population of Lesotho.

Setter Kendall Obreza '10 (center, red shirt) was one of nearly 100 Wittenberg students, faculty and staff to participate in the 2009 community service trips to Lesotho.

The Border Battle is the only regular season tournament Wittenberg will host during the 2009 season. The Tigers, who have reached three NCAA Division III Final Fours in the last four years, will be joined on the Ohio side of the competition by Ohio Northern University, the College of Mount St. Joseph and Mount Union College. Those four squads will square off against the Michigan side, comprised of Alma College, Hope College and Calvin College of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and Edison Community College, a junior college program from Piqua, Ohio. Four rounds of matches will start at 1 p.m. on Friday, and another four rounds will commence at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

The Tigers are off to a 2-1 start to the 2009 season, their seventh under Labrador, who now has a career record of 205-28. Wittenberg is coming off a 33-3 season in 2008, one that included North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season and tournament championships. The Tigers have picked up right where they left off a year ago, thanks in part to setter Erin Slattery, class of 2010 from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, the team leader in assists, right-side hitter Amy Cox, class of 2011 from Newark, Ohio, the team leader in kills, and middle hitter Katie Sumner, class of 2012 from Dublin, Ohio, the team leader in blocks. They have led a balanced offensive and defensive performance through the first two weeks of the campaign, including wins over NAIA scholarship program Cedarville and perennial NCAA Division III powerhouse Mount St. Joseph and a 3-2 loss to Thomas More.

A year after Ohio teams won 14 of 16 matches in the inaugural Border Battle, the teams from Michigan pulled even in 2006 at 8-8. In 2007, Ohio teams were again on top, winning 12 of the 16 matches, before the two sides - with Ohio-based Walsh in the field on the Michigan side - finished 9-7 in favor of the Buckeye state in 2008.

This year, the Ohio side includes 2008 NCAA Division III Tournament semifinalist Ohio Northern, ranked fifth in the latest national poll and regular season champion of the rugged Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) each of the last nine years. The Polar Bears stand 8-1 in the early going of the 2009 season. Mount St. Joseph is another top team in the region most years, and the Lions are off to a 5-3 start. Rounding out the field, Mount Union is receiving votes in the national poll after going 3-0 in the Mount St. Joseph Invitational last weekend. The Purple Raiders are 8-0 overall on the 2009 campaign.

Alma, Calvin and Hope are three of the top teams in the MIAA annually. Alma is 4-3 so far in 2009, including a 1-2 mark in the conference. Hope, ranked eighth in the nation, is off to a 6-0, including a win over seventh-ranked Washington University, the 2007 national champion. 10th-ranked Calvin sports a 5-1 record so far in 2009. The Knights have reached the postseason tournament each of the last four years.

The newcomer to the Border Battle party is Edison Community College, which is ranked 15th in the latest National Junior College Athletic Association Division II poll. The Chargers are off to a 9-1 start in 2009, with wins over three nationally ranked teams.

Written by: Ryan Maurer
Action photo by: Erin Pence

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