Sophomore setter Shelli Habegger (Curtice, Ohio/Oregon Clay) earned North Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year honors, and Head Coach Connie Surowicz (Ohio State ‘81) took home NCAC Coach of the Year honors for their performances during the 2000 season.
The Wittenberg University volleyball team dropped just a single game in eight regular season North Coast Athletic Conference matches, won two in-season tournaments (Alma and Colorado College) and then swept three straight matches in the NCAC tournament to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
The Wittenberg University Tigers are used to having the bulls-eye on their backs. It comes with the territory after more than a decade of winning seasons and three straight perfect North Coast Athletic Conference regular seasons. This week, the Tigers will once again carry that mantle into the conference tournament, which is scheduled to begin Tuesday at home against No. 8 seeded Hiram. Game time is 7 p.m.
The Tigers concluded the regular season portion of their NCAC schedule with the same results as each of the last two seasons - with a string of impressive victories and momentum as the team to beat in the NCAC tournament.
The Tigers took another step toward winning a third straight regular season NCAC championship by whipping rival Ohio Wesleyan 3-0 on Oct. 11. Then the Tigers took an even bigger step toward establishing themselves on the national scene by winning the Spike It Up! Invitational at Colorado College over the weekend.
Wittenberg took another step toward winning its fourth straight NCAC regular season championship last week, defeating Kenyon, 3-1, and Allegheny, 3-0, on Saturday to remain atop the conference standings. The victories gave the Tigers momentum heading into this week's conference match-up against perennial power Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday.
The Tigers have already enjoyed several highlights during the 2000 season. Starting the season 5-0 by storming through the Alma Invitational was quite a start. And defeating Juniata, the No. 3 ranked team in the country, at the Emory Invitational was a first for the Wittenberg program.
The Tigers entered the 2000 season favored to add another NCAC title to their trophycase. After Saturday's two easy victories over visiting Denison and Hiram, the Tigers proved they are, in fact, the team to beat in the NCAC this year.
The Tigers showed again why they are the preseason favorites in the NCAC again this year, and also why they may be a factor when the postseason rolls around. On Wednesday, Wittenberg easily defeated Earlham, 3-0, to open conference action, and then over the weekend, the Tigers went 2-2 in the Emory Invitational in Atlanta, Ga.
After opening the 2000 season with a 5-0 performance in the Alma Invitational, the Tigers continued their strong play against better competition last weekend at the Ohio Northern Invitational. Wittenberg finished 2-2 in the four matches played there, defeating Manchester and Thomas More in three games each, and falling to Ohio Northern and Mt. St. Joseph by identical 3-1 scores.
The volleyball team started its 2000 season in strong fashion as well. Coming off a 21-15 campaign in 1999 - which included a perfect 8-0 NCAC championship run - Wittenberg won five matches on Friday and Saturday to capture the Alma Invitational. The Tigers defeated Carthage, Aquinas, St. Mary's, Alma and Spring Harbor. Wittenberg dropped just two games in the five matches. Sophomore Brittany Baume (Springfield, Ohio/Southeastern), last year's NCAC Player of the Year, topped the squad in kills twice, but she had plenty of help from freshman Michelle Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame), who paced the team in kills twice as well.