Springfield, Ohio – The Wittenberg men's volleyball team opened up their 2019 campaign, taking on the No. 3 Red Men of Carthage College with the first match of the Jim Coleman Memorial Invitational. The Tigers came out swinging, as Wittenberg quickly brought the match back to even at 1-1, taking the second set, 25-22. The visiting Red Men went on to take the final two sets 25-19, 25-19, taking the final tally 3-1. Senior Isaiah Brock led the Wittenberg offense with nine kills, recording a .583 attacking percentage while adding two service aces and a block assist.

Match Breakdown

The Tigers battled with the Red Men through the first set, planting seven kills on 27 total attacks. Gabriel Lamar scored the first Wittenberg point of the 2019 season, breaking a 3-0 Carthage lead. Wittenberg held strong against the Carthage attack, as the Red Men were only able to maintain a one-point lead midway through the first set. The Wittenberg offense came alive in the second set, as the Tigers posted a .300 swinging percentage, connecting for 15 kills on 30 attack attempts with just six errors in the set. As the two teams slugged it out, Wittenberg took their first lead of the match going up 19-18 in the second set. The Tigers fended off one more late Carthage rally, as Wittenberg took the second set 25-22. Wittenberg fought hard in the final two sets, ultimately falling short to the nationally-ranked Red Men on the opening night of the Jim Coleman Memorial Invitational.

Who Stood Out

Blake Sobieralski finished the evening with a .250 kill percentage, logging seven kills on 16 attempts. Ross Russell and Noah Wissel facilitated the Wittenberg offense, as Russell provided 18 assists with nine digs and four kills and Wissel contributed 16 assists with five digs. Deion Woodson and Collin Buelow each provided six kills for the Red and White on the opening night of competition for the Tigers.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will return to action for day two of the Jim Coleman Memorial Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 19, taking on Lakeland University at 9:00 AM, before facing off against another Top 25 opponent at 1:00 PM when they matchup against No. 9 UC Santa Cruz.