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Wittenberg Tigers Sweep Second-Straight Ranked Opponent At National Invitational
Story Courtesy of Wittenberg Athletics Site
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Only 12 hours after an upset victory over American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason #11 St. Thomas, the Wittenberg volleyball team handed #14 Wisconsin-Whitewater a straight-sets loss by scores of 25-19, 25-20 and 28-26. The Tigers have now opened the season with back-to-back sweeps of ranked competition.
Cal Lutheran started off strong with a 25-17 win in their first set against St. Thomas in the 12:30 contest, but three straight wins for St. Thomas by scores of 25-22, 25-19 and 25-14 gave the Tommies the match.
Down 2-0 in the 2:30 p.m. matchup, St. Thomas rattled off the first 12 points of the third set before a service error gave Wisconsin-Whitewater the ball. From there, the Tommies were in control of the set, cruising to a 25-11 win. Whitewater fought back in the fourth and final set, where they won 25-20 and secured the victory.
Playing in the 10 a.m. opening match of Day Two in the Wittenberg University National Invitational, the Tigers were at first taken off guard by the Warhawk attack. After falling to an early 11-5 deficit in the first set, Wittenberg fought back to a tie at 19-19, and carried the momentum through to win six of the seven points and take the set 25-20.
The Tigers took the second set by a score of 25-19 before the Warhawks reengaged in the third and caught the Tigers late. At 24-24, the teams traded several points, and it was 26-26 before the Tigers could earn two consecutive rallies and claim the set at 28-26 and the match. Wittenberg has now opened the season with back-to-back straight-sets wins off of AVCA-ranked teams.
Junior middle hitter Katie Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson) again led the offense with nine kills on .500 hitting, adding six blocks and two aces to the mix. Junior outside hitter Christine Simpson (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) posted five blocks at the net to go with seven kills on .412 hitting. Senior setter Amy Cox (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) earned 37 assists and sophomore libero Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas) paced the team with 24 digs.
