SPRINGFIELD, Ohio-- The Wittenberg Tigers men's volleyball team returned back to Springfield for a MCVL match Friday night, taking on Dominican University, from Chicago, Illinois. The Tigers were poised to get a tally in the win column for the first time in MCVL play, but the first year program ran into a high-octane offense in the Dominican Stars. Wittenberg dropped the match three-sets to one Friday night; 23-25, 19-25, 25-22, 18-25. The loss puts the first-year program at a 6-3 mark overall on the season, and 0-3 in MCVL play.

SET 1

• Dominican jumped out to a 6-3 lead before Ashton Sellers (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville Central) hammered home a kill for the Tigers, putting the set at 6-4.
• Before the Tigers could muster an attack, Dominican had grown their lead to 19-14 when the home team took a timeout to slow down the Star attack.
• Out of the timeout, Dylan Kolovitz (Chiacgo, Illinois/St. Patrick) connected on his second kill of the set, cutting the lead down to four.
• After an inadvertent whistle and a replay of the previous point, Joel Sotos (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) sent a kill home for the home team, getting the Tigers back to within striking distance at 22-20.
• In exciting fashion, Dominican produced a service error, followed by an attack error that put the Tigers right back in the game, at 23-23.
• The initial comeback fell short as Wittenberg failed to produce another point, losing the first set 23-25.

SET 2

• The momentum that Wittenberg produced at the end of the first-set carried over into the second set as the Tigers jumped out to a quick 3-2 lead.
• From this point on, the Tiger defense allowed the Stars to go on a 7-0 run, before getting back on the board at 11-6
• Isaiah Brock (Noblesville, Indiana/Noblesville) produced back-to-back blocks for the Tiger defense, igniting the comeback as the home team cut the lead to 16-13.
• Following up Brock's efforts, senior Matt Briskey (Dublin, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) connected on a kill, cutting the Dominican lead to 22-18.
• The Star's offense proved to be too much down the stretch, as the visitors took the second set 25-19.

SET 3

• Briskey picked up his seventh kill of the match after another perfectly placed Ross Russell (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) set, moving the score to 6-4 in favor of Dominican.
• Wittenberg took a timeout trailing 11-7, which would prove to be very helpful for the home team.
• Russell was able to go on a service run after the timeout, bringing the Tiger's all the way back to an 18-18 tie.
• Wittenberg stood tall down the stretch defensively, taking a 24-22 lead before winning the third set 25-22.

SET 4

• Dominican stayed true to form, jumping out to a 4-1 lead to start off the set, forcing Wittenberg into an early timeout.
• Despite regrouping early, the Tigers were forced into taking another timeout trailing 11-6 in the decisive set.
• Carter Schmidt (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) got his team back on the board with a kill of his own, as the Tigers then trailed 18-10.
• Wittenberg could not fend off Dominican's offensive attack, dropping the fourth set 18-25.

TOP PERFORMANCES

• Briskey, the lone senior of the first year program, had a career night for the red and white, hammering home 12 kills for a .706 percentage.
• Justin Luby (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) and Nathan Matthews (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) combine for 25 digs on the night.
• Briskey's 13 total points led all Tigers offensively.

UP NEXT

• Wittenberg has a quick turn-around as the Tigers take on MCVL foe Benedictine Saturday, February 12 in Springfield. The match is set to start at 2:00 PM.

Written By: Kuris Duggan