Women’s Volleyball Rolls Past Buena Vista and No. 25 Whitewater

Decatur, Illinois - The third-ranked Wittenberg women's volleyball squad wrapped up play at the Millikin Invitational on Saturday with a pair of wins to improve to 12-2 overall on the season. The Tigers opened the day with a 3-0 (25-11, 25-23, 25-15) win over Buena Vista, before topping No. 25 Wisconsin-Whitewater, 3-1, (16-25, 25-23, 25-19, 26-24) in the afternoon. 

Buena Vista Match 

The Tigers cruised to victory in the morning match thanks in part to sophomore right-side hitter Haley Horner leading the offensive attack with 11 kills and just four hitting errors in 24 total attempts for a .292 hitting percentage. Senior setter Karen Wildemann once again set the stage for the offensive with 32 set assists. Wildeman also notched double digits in digs with 11, while junior libero Taylor Yontz led the squad in the match with a team-high 19 digs. 

Wisconsin-Whitewater Match 

After dropping the first set against Whitewater by a 25-16 margin, the Tigers fought back to earn the 3-1 win over the Warhawks with winning set scores of 25-23, 25-19 and 26-24.  Horner once again led the Tigers in the match with 14 total kills in the win, while freshman Paige Kucinic had a breakout match in her rookie season with 12 kills against just three hitting errors in 25 total attempts for an eye-popping .360 hitting percentage. Horner was also a force on the defensive side of the ball in the match with six blocks (2 solo, 4 asst.) and five digs, while Wildemann again notched a double-double with 44 assists and 10 total digs. 

Up Next

With the bulk of the non-conference schedule now in the books, the Tigers will turn their attention to conference play, starting with back-to-back home matches next week on Homecoming Weekend. They open the weekend against Hiram on Friday night at 7:00 p.m., before taking on Allegheny on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.