Sarah Yuskewich

Tiffany Keller

To be the best, you have to beat the best. Thats not just a cute saying. Its a fact, and few teams take more shots at the best than Connie Surowicz and her Tiger volleyball team. Last weekend, Wittenberg traveled to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, home to the sixth-ranked team in the nation and last years NCAA Division III tournament runner-up. The Warhawks hosted a tournament that featured six nationally ranked teams competing in a round robin format.

When the hitting finally concluded, the Tigers finished a very respectable 2-2 in the competition, defeating two teams ranked in the top 11 nationally on Friday and then losing in five games to the No. 4 and No. 6 squads in the country on Saturday.

Wittenberg defeated Wartburg, the No. 11 team, 3-1 in the opener and then put the hammer down on the No. 5 team, Wisconsin-River Falls, by a 3-0 final. On Saturday, the Tigers met their match(es), however, losing 3-2 to No. 6 Wisconsin-Whitewater and 3-2 to No. 4 Trinity. Against the host team, Wittenberg rallied from down two games, only to lose 15-10 in the final game. Against Trinity, the Tigers held a 2-1 lead before seeing their lead evaporate and a 15-12 Game 5 decision go against them.

The kills were spread around over the weekend, with sophomore Monica McDonald (Newark, Ohio/Catholic), the top hitter in the NCAC with more than 4.5 kills per game, showing the way with 74 putaways. Senior Tiffany Keller (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw) finished with 58, senior Teresa Murphy (Blacklick, Ohio/Newark Catholic) tallied 54 and junior Lindsay Nelson (Massillon, Ohio/Tuslaw)chipped in with 44.

Running the show once again was sophomore setter Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), who put up 15.3 assists per game. Among her phenomenal total of 260 assists in the tournament were 85 in the loss to Trinity, the second-highest total in school history. In recognition of her continued outstanding play, the North Coast Athletic Conference named Yuskewich its Player of the Week. It was the first time she had been so honored.

Next up for the Tigers is the first-ever Wittenberg National Quad on Friday and Saturday. Scheduled to appear are No. 1 ranked and undefeated Washington University and nationally ranked Mount St. Joseph and Juniata. All three visitors to the HPER Center this weekend were in the NCAA Division III tournament quarterfinals a year ago. Matches start at 5:30 p.m. on Friday.