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Wittenberg gets a first round bye in the regional tournament hosted by top-seeed Mt. St. Joseph. The Tigers, who are making their sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament and seventh since 1993, will play the winner of a first round match between No. 3 seed Ohio Northern, the Ohio Athletic Conference champion, and No. 6 seed Johnson & Wales, champions of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.
The Wittenberg University women's volleyball team won its fifth consecutive - and eighth in the last 10 years - North Coast Athletic Conference volleyball tournament championship last weekend. The title earned the Tigers an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament and the No. 2 seed in the Great Lakes Regional.
The Tigers have participated in the national tournament every year since 1996. While Wittenberg has dominated the conference, compiling a 61-3 regular season NCAC record since Surowicz arrived in 1994 and winning eight of the last 10 tournament crowns, the Tigers are 4-6 in NCAA tournament action. Two of those NCAA wins came last year in the same Great Lakes Regional as Wittenberg defeated the U.S. Merchant Marines and Ohio Northern before falling to the top-seeded host team, Mt. St. Joseph, for the fifth time in the 2000 season.The Tigers advanced by winning three straight NCAC matches without dropping a game. Wittenberg dispatched Oberlin, Wooster and Denison, all on their home court. Junior outside hitter Teresa Murphy (Blacklick, Ohio/Newark Catholic) and freshman outside hitter Monica McDonald (Newark, Ohio/Catholic), the team's kill leaders, were both named to the NCAC All-Tournament team. Junior middle hitter Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) was named Tournament MVP after a dominating defensive performance in the title match victory over Denison.
McDonald led the conference in kills per game this season and is a strong candidate for NCAC Newcomer of the Year. Her best competition may be freshman setter Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson), who ranked among the conference's elite in assists.