No. 3 Tigers Cruise Into Round 2 Of NCAA Tournament

No. 3 Tigers Cruise Into Round 2 Of NCAA Tournament
November 8, 2018
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Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Wittenberg women's volleyball team took down the Carthage College Lady Reds 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-20) in the 2018 NCAA Grand Rapids Regional opening round. The Tiger win marks the ninth consecutive NCAA first-round victory for Wittenberg. In the program's 24th NCAA Tournament appearance, the Tigers move to 48-22 in postseason action and 16-5 in first round matches. By overtaking Carthage to start the regional, the Tigers gave first-year head coach and freshly appointed North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Evelyn Carus her first NCAA Tournament win of her career.

Match Breakdown

In just the eighth meeting between the two sides, the Tigers extended their series lead over the Lady Reds of Carthage College 7-1 with their straight set win to open the tournament. Wittenberg tallied 45 kills on the afternoon logging a .213 attacking percentage, all while holding the Lady Reds to a .140 attacking percentage on the match. Haley Horner and Katie Hiestand set the pace for the Tiger offense, setting down 10 kills each while adding two blocks apiece. Following close behind fueling the Wittenberg offense was Taylor Brown, logging a .222 attacking percentage with seven kills and just one error on 27 total attacks. Brown finished the match by adding 16 digs, two aces and two assists to the effort. Leading the charge on the defensive front for the Tigers was senior Kennedey Schmidt, finishing with four blocks while adding six kills and finishing with a .235 attacking percentage. Senior Karen Wildemann provided 33 of the 43 total Tiger assists on the day, adding six kills for a .429 attacking percentage. Taylor Yontz supplied 25 of the 75 Wittenberg digs in the match, finishing with one kill and one assist.

The Thread

From The Bench

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