Tigers' Win Over #2 Emory Highlights Day 1

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The opening day of the 2011 Wittenberg National Invitational featured two expected results before a 3-1 victory by the host Tigers over 2010 national runner-up Emory before a boisterous crowd of more than 1,000 partisan fans.

The day started with a 3-1 win for Emory, ranked No. 2 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) preseason poll, over Maryville. Set scores were 25-11, 25-12, 17-25 and 25-22 as Amelia McCall and Breanah Bourque led with eight kills apiece and Natalie Schonefeld dished out 27 assists. Maryville was paced by Teri Lind's 34 assists and Kristen Findley's match-high 14 kills to go along with Katherine Nadler's match-high 21 digs.

The second match of the day ended in a 3-0 win for No. 6 Juniata over Hanover by set scores of 25-20, 25-15, 25-13. Juniata was led offensively by Ashley Schnader with 12 kills and Courtney Greenberg with 30 assists, while Libby Morrison spearheaded the defense with 23 digs. Hanover finished with six more attacking errors than kills and managed just 13 assists in the match.

That set the stage for a thrilling final match on opening day as the fifth-ranked Tigers picked up a 3-1 win over second-ranked Emory by set scores of 26-24, 20-25, 25-23, 25-17.

Christina Gilene celebrates a point with her teammates, shortly before recording her 1,000th career dig.

Emory was paced offensively by Bourque, who contributed 15 kills, and Schonefeld, who finished with 28 assists. Molly Landers led five players in double figures for digs with 20, but the Eagles were credited with just one block in the entire match.

The Tigers put three players in double figures for kills, led by senior outside hitter Kimmie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) with 15. Senior middle hitter Katie Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson) added 13 kills and senior middle hitter Miranda Sagle (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) chipped in with 10 kills on just 16 attack attempts, good for a robust .562 attack percentage.

The setting tandem of junior Hallie Donathan (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) and freshman Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Perry) finished with 22 assists apiece. Defensively, dig honors went to junior libero Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas), who topped the 1,000-dig mark for her career with 27 in the match. Dyer added 21 digs and senior Hannah Riley (Minerva, Ohio/Minerva) chipped in with 20. Just as importantly, the Tigers finished with 11 team blocks, led by Sumner with two solos and five assists to her credit.

Five more matches are on tap for Saturday. Action begins at 10 a.m. and continues through a match scheduled to start at 6 p.m.