Springfield, Ohio- After winning the first set in the 2019 Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Men's Volleyball Tournament Championship Match against visiting Thiel by a 25-22 margin, the Wittenberg University Men's Volleyball team dropped the final three sets by scores of 25-18, 25-21 and 25-20 as the Tomcats ultimately were crowned tournament champions on Saturday afternoon at Springfield High School.
Despite the loss in the tournament title match, the Tigers were crowned the 2019 AMCC regular season champions after finishing the 2019 season with an 11-3 record in league play. All told, the 10-member senior class that helped jump start the men's volleyball program just four years ago finished their careers with an overall record of 63-51 (.553), which included a program-record 21 wins this season. The 10-member senior class includes Charles Atkinson, Troy Boucher, Isaiah Brock, Justin Luby, Nathan Matthews, Ryan Roark, Martis Roze, Ross Russell, Ashton Sellers and Blake Sobieralski.
Following the conclusion of the championship match two of those seniors were recognized by the AMCC on the All-Tournament Team, Russell and Luby. In two tournament matches, Russell handed out 81 total set assists, which included passing out a season-high 47 helpers in Friday night's thrilling 3-2 win over PSU-Behrend in the semifinal match. After registering just three kills in Friday night's win over the Lions, Luby was a bright spot for the Tigers in the championship match as he finished the day with 11 kills against just three hitting errors in 14 total attempts for a .571 hitting percentage.
Two additional Tigers also hit double-digit kills in the championship match led by sophomore outside hitter Deion Woodson slamming down a team-high 13 kills. Senior Ashton Sellers also notched 12 kills against the Tomcats, while rookie Collin Buelow finished with nine kills for the Tigers.
In addition to Russell's 34 assist against Thiel, junior Noah Wissel finished the match with 17 total helpers, while Boucher led the defensive effort with 15 total digs.