Tigers Advance To NCAC Tournament Championship Match

Greencastle, Indiana - The North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament may be taking place on a different campus for just the second time since the turn of the century, but that didn't prevent the Wittenberg Tigers from advancing to the championship match. Third-seeded Wittenberg got off to a fast start and rode that momentum to a 3-1 win over second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan.

The win, which moved the Tigers to 15-13 overall, moved Wittenberg into the championship match on Saturday against the winner of the other semifinal between fourth-seeded Hiram and regular season champion DePauw. Ohio Wesleyan, which had defeated Wittenberg during the regular season for the first time since 1996 (other than the COVID-shortened spring 2021 season), saw its season come to an end with a record of 20-8.

The Tigers jumped on top from the opening serve of the first set and cruised to a dominant 25-12 win. Ohio Wesleyan countered in the second set, repeatedly fighting off potential clinching points for Wittenberg before finally closing things out by a score of 31-29. The third and fourth sets were tight throughout, but the Tigers got the best of things in both by scores of 25-23 and 25-22.

As it was in the quarterfinal over Denison, strong defense was the key for Wittenberg. Six different Tiger players finished in double figures for digs in the match, paced by sophomore libero Ally White (Harrison, Ohio/Harrison) with 21, but followed closely by senior setter Mack Ricketts (Morrow, Ohio/Little Miami) with 18. At the net, the Tiger defense was paced by freshman Kait Colahan (Vermilion, Ohio/Vermilion) with five blocks.

Good defense often sets up quality offensive opportunities, and Ricketts did stellar work getting her teammates set up with 47 assists without even a single ball-handling error in 149 official chances. Her distribution allowed three players to reach double figures in kills, led by senior Tyler Linkhart (Yellow Springs, Ohio/Yellow Springs) with 16, sophomore Kaili Worcester (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) with 15, and sophomore Alana Bartulovic (Cleveland, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) with 12.

Wittenberg is shooting for its 27th NCAC Tournament championship overall and its third in a row. The Tigers have a stunning record of 26-2 in NCAC Tournament title matches.