SPRINGFIELD — The Wittenberg men's volleyball team defeated NAIA opponent Mount Vernon Nazarene 3-1 on Tuesday night in the Stephanie Monnin Memorial Match. After dropping the first set 17-25, the Tigers responded to take the final three sets by scores of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-17 to claim their fifth straight victory. They have now won eight of their past nine games and 14 of thier past 17.

The Basics

• Records: Wittenberg (15-8 overall), Mount Vernon Nazarene (13-7 overall)
• Venue: Pam Evans Smith Arena - Springfield, Ohio
• Tuesday's match was played in honor of Stephanie Monnin, who passed away in February. Monnin, the mother of Wittenberg freshman Reese Monnin (Xenia, Ohio/Carroll) and MVNU freshman Tyler Monnin, loved volleyball and the people that volleyball brought into her life. As a volleyball player, coach and mom, Stephanie was enthusiastic, selfless, supportive and brought people together. Whether it was words of encouragement after a tough practice or brownies for the team after a match, Stephanie was always thinking of others. Most of all, she loved watching Reese and Tyler play.

Donations

• A scholarship fund has been set up in Stephanie's honor to continue her legacy. To make donations, visit the GoFundMe page. The donation page can also be accessed using the QR code in the graphic below.

Stat Leaders

• Reese Monnin tallied nine kills, two digs and one block, while his twin brother Tyler posted four digs and one assist for MVNU.
• Sophomore Eli Halverson (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin) led Wittenberg with 15 kills while adding six service aces and four digs. His six aces tied the program record for a four-set match, matching the mark set by Ashton Sellers in 2018.
• Sophomore Sam Richardson (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) fell just short of the record for aces, tallying five in the match to go with a team-high 34 assists.
• Sophomore Michael Yurk (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) finished with nine kills and seven digs.
• Senior Tom Supan (Medina, Ohio/Medina) added six kills and a team-high 13 digs.
• Sophomore Jake Downs (Cincinnati, Ohio/Milford) finished with 12 digs.
• Landon Ewers led MVNU with nine kills and 11 digs.

The Game

• The Cougars jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the opening set. The Tigers were able to get back within four at 20-16, but MVNU scored five of the next six points for the 25-17 win.
• Wittenberg responded by taking an 11-5 lead in the second set, closing that stretch with a 5-0 run bookended by kills from Halverson and Yurk.
• After a Cougar timeout, the Tigers scored five of the next seven points highlighted by two kills from Yurk, an ace from sophomore Trajan Kress (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) and a kill from Monnin for a 16-7 lead.
• The Cougars fought back to within three, 19-16, but Wittenberg closed strong, scoring six of the final seven points for the 25-17 victory. That stretch was highlighted by a kill and two aces from Halverson.
• The Tigers put together a strong start to the third set, opening up a 17-12 edge. After two straight points from MVNU, Wittenberg answered with an 8-1 run for the 25-15 victory. That stretch included three aces from Richardson, two kills from Monnin and one kill from Yurk.
• Wittenberg scored the first four points of the fourth set and never trailed the rest of the way despite allowing the Cougars to get back within one at 8-7. The Tigers responded with a 5-0 run after that for a 13-7 edge en route to the 25-17 victory to clinch the match on a kill from Yurk. That key 5-0 spurt included two aces and a kill from Halverson and a kill from senior Kurt Klamfoth (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln). 
• Wittenberg hit .186 in the match, finishing with 44 kills and 23 errors, while MVNU hit .095, finishing with 30 kills and 20 errors.

Quotes

• Head coach Nathan Matthews on the game: "We faced lots of adversity coming into this match. We had five guys and our assistant coach out with the flu, so that threw us off. And it was a really emotional night. This was the biggest crowd we've ever played in front of in program history. We felt all of that stuff early on, but our guys bounced back and looked like a whole new team. But we've come to expect that now. This is a very resilient team, and moving forward, that's going to serve us well in important moments."
• Matthews on his team's success in serving: "We passed really well, and the serving really caught on after that. Those are the two most important skills in volleyball, and we're doing them at the highest level we ever have, which is exciting going into the home stretch of the season."
• Freshman Reese Monnin: "I'd like to thank all the family, friends, acquaintances and teammates and especially Mount Vernon for making this all possible. We're doing this for you, Mom. Tyler and I miss you, and we're going to keep playing just for you."

Records & Milestones

• Third-year head coach Nathan Matthews is now 45-35 all-time at Wittenberg.
• Wittenberg is now 1-1 all-time against Mount Vernon Nazarene.
• Senior Andrew Diaz de Padilla (Nipmo, Calif./Central Coast New Tech) has 504 assists this season and ranks third in program history with 1,114 career assists. His 610 assists from last season rank seventh in program history for a single season.
• Yurk has 277 kills this season and ranks sixth in program history with 470 career kills. He currently ranks fifth in program history for single-season kills.
• Supan has 395 career kills, which ranks ninth all-time at Wittenberg. His 300 career digs rank eighth in program history in that category.

Up Next

• The Tigers return to action on Friday hosting Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League foe Mount St. Joseph at 7 p.m. Wittenberg currently leads the MCVL standings with a perfect 6-0 mark with three games left to play.