Buffalo, N.Y. – The Wittenberg University men's volleyball team headed off to Buffalo, N.Y. to take on Medaille College and the University D'Youville a double feature of AMCC contest to begin their five-match road trip. The Tigers fell in the opening match to the Mavericks of Medaille 3-2 (24-26, 25-16, 25-27, 25-9, 13-15). The Red and White returned to action, making quick work of D'Youville with a 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-11) win to close out the day. Ashton Sellers led the Wittenberg offense, placing 23 kills over the two-match span. After splitting the day, the Tigers move to 11-8 on the season and 4-3 in AMCC action.
Match One Breakdown
Playing their first match of the day into five sets, Wittenberg logged a .339 hitting percentage, recording 63 kills on 127 attack attempts. It was a hard-fought battle through the early going, as Medaille took the first set 26-24. Wittenberg was able to hold Medaille to a .000 hitting percentage to start the day while posting a .214 attacking percentage through the first set. Wittenberg bounced back in the second set, while once again holding the home team to a .000 attacking clip. The Tigers brought things back to even with a 25-16 second set win, swinging .458 with 14 kills on 24 attack attempts with just three errors. It was another back and forth battle in the third set, as Medaille narrowly edged out Wittenberg for the 27-25 win. The Tigers came back swinging in the fourth set, posting a .565 attacking percentage, smashing 15 kills on 23 attack attempts with just two errors. Wittenberg recorded a .389 attacking percentage in the final set of the afternoon, planting nine kills on 18 attack attempts with just two errors. Sellers logged 17 attacks against the Mavericks, posting a .393 hitting percentage to go along with seven blocks. Jackson Tyler added 16 kills on 28 attempts, finishing with eight digs and two blocks to his credit. Isaiah Brock closed out the first game as the third Tiger to tally double-digit kills. Brock finished with a .400 attacking percentage while adding four blocks.
Match Two Breakdown
The Tigers took down D'Youville in the second match of the day, as Tyler led the Red and White attack with 8 kills on 16 swings. Wittenberg closed out the day by logging an above .400 attacking percentage in all three sets while committing just five errors in the match. Brock finished the second match with a team-leading .600 kill percentage, placing 7 kills on 10 attack attempts with just one error. The Wittenberg defense stood strong over time, reducing the D'Youville attacking percentage from .333 in the first set all the way down to -.045 by the final set. The Red and White cruised to a straight-set victory over D'Youville, finishing off the match with a .453 attacking percentage, planting 34 kills on 64 attack attempts in the match.
Who Stood Out
Ross Russell provided 35 assists in the first match for the Red and White, before closing out the day with 12 in the final match. Russell would also add five service aces on the afternoon. Noah Wissel tallied 18 assists in the first match with 13 assists in the second match for Wittenberg. Nathan Matthews and Russell Burke each tallied seven digs in the first match of the day for the Red and White.
UP NEXT
Wittenberg will continue their road trip, taking on Eastern Mennonite on Monday, Mar. 4 at 1:00 PM.