Tigers Sweep Hiram, Clinch Share Of NCAC Title

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Wittenberg-Hiram match is an annually awaited event in the world of North Coast Athletic Conference volleyball: a showdown between the league's perennial contenders.

Facing the only NCAC team that has managed a win against them in the last 15 years, Wittenberg cruised to a 3-0 sweep and improved to 7-0 in league action and 17-4 overall, claiming the victory with set scores of 25-15, 25-22 and 25-14. More importantly, the Tigers clinched at least a share of the 2012 NCAC regular season title.

The Tigers did not head into the confrontation without an ally: university president Laurie M. Joyner joined the team as honorary bench coach for the evening.

The Tiger offense was paced by junior Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North), who pounded a career second-best 14 kills on a hitting percentage of .387, followed by senior Jessica Batanian (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) with 10 kills at .320. Freshman Haley Mucha (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) led in the efficiency  column with five kills and no errors in six attempts for an attack percentage of .833.

Senior Hallie Donathan (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) and sophomore Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Perry) made a strong setting combination with 35 assists between them, including 20 for Donathan and 15 for Vodopich.

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University president Laurie M. Joyner, Ph.D., attended the match as the team's honorary bench coach.

Photo by Erin Pence

At the net, Seidenstricker, Mucha, Behling and Batanian all finished with two total blocks, and freshman Melissa Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) had one block assist. Senior Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas) paced the defense with 19 digs.

Wittenberg got off to a running start in the first set, but only after Hiram took an initial 3-1 lead. The Tigers responded with five straight points, three courtesy Hiram attack errors, bookended by kills from Haley Mucha and Andrea Behling.

The Tigers eventually built out to a lead of 13-7 and launched into a four-point run that included two kills by Jessica Batanian and one by Mucha. After growing the lead to 10 points at 20-10, Wittenberg paced itself to the finish line, splitting the last 10 points of the set 5-5 with the Terriers.

Wittenberg picked up the first five points of the second set, all on Batanian's serve and including two Seidenstricker kills, but the run hardly set the pace. The Terriers responded to a 7-1 deficit with three consecutive points and nine of the next 11 to overtake Wittenberg briefly at 10-9.  

After Meghan Vodopich assisted two straight kills to help Wittenberg reclaim the lead, the teams battled to a 13-all tie. The Tigers then got out in front and stayed there with two straight blocks, first by Seidenstricker and Mucha, followed by a solo block by Seidenstricker.

Set No. 3 was tight until Wittenberg broke it open with six straight points, including two Seidenstricker aces, to make it a 17-8 set. Wittenberg took eight of the next 14 points to end the frame and the match.

Wittenberg finishes off the NCAC regular season with a 1 p.m. Senior Day match with Allegheny, the first of three contests at Pam Evans Smith Arena in a tri-match with Allegheny and Marietta. The Gators and Pioneers will square off at 3 p.m., and Wittenberg will take on Marietta at 5 p.m.

John Strawn '07