Kristin Fox
The Wittenberg volleyball team, ranked second in the nation, will play in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 10th time in school history and the ninth year in a row this weekend. The top-seeded Tigers received a bye in the Great Lakes Regional bracket and will take on the Alma/Benedictine first round winner at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Ohio Northern.
A win would advance the Tigers to their third straight regional championship, which is scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday. The national quarterfinals are set for Saturday, Nov. 20, and the Final Four is slated for Nov. 26-27, in Rochester, Minn. Tickets for the regional tournament are $4 for adults, $3 for students and $2 for children 12 and under.
The Tigers, who are now 33-2 overall, advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament by sweeping two home matches in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament last weekend.
In Friday's NCAC Tournament semifinal, the Tigers won convincingly, 3-0, over fourth-seeded Denison. The Tigers started slowly in all three games but finished with a flourish each time, especially in the third game, winning 10 of the last 13 points. Senior outside hitter Monica McDonald (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) was outstanding, knocking down 18 kills in 39 attempts for a sparkling .359 attack percentage. Also reaching double digits offensively were junior middle hitter Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville) and senior middle hitter Kristin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) with 10 kills each. Senior setter Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) distributed 43 assists and seven kills.
Defensively, the Tigers were paced by senior libero Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) with 38 digs, freshman outside hitter Emily Bell (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) with 18 digs and McDonald with 16 digs. Dixon topped the Tigers with four total blocks, including three solos.
In Saturday's championship match, the Tigers defeated second-seeded Hiram, 3-0, to capture their eighth consecutive NCAC Tournament title and 10th overall in school history. It was the 23rd consecutive NCAC Tournament win for the Tigers, dating back to 1996. That goes along with a 59-match NCAC regular season win streak that goes all the way back to 1997.
The Tigers dominated the match throughout, jumping out to big, demoralizing leads in the first two games and then rallying from four points down in the third game behind the serving of senior Aubrey Anderson (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North)(five straight points), McDonald (four straight points) and Fox (three straight points).
Individually, Wittenberg finished with an outstanding attack percentage of .287 as three players reached double figures in kills - McDonald and Fox with 13 each and Dixon with 12. Yuskewich topped her season average of 14.21 assists per game as she distributed 45 in the three-game victory, to go along with six block assists. Defensively, Schmid led all players with 26 digs. The all-tournament team included four Tigers - McDonald, Schmid, Dixon and Yuskewich, the tournament MVP.
The Great Lakes Regional figures to be one of the most difficult in the nation with four ranked teams among the six in the bracket. Wittenberg's record against teams ranked in the current top 25 is 8-2, with the only two losses coming on the opposing team's home court in the final match of a weekend tournament. The only team in the Great Lakes Regional that Wittenberg played during the regular season was Ohio Northern, which the Tigers defeated 3-0 on Sept. 25 in the Wittenberg Invitational II.
The Tigers have reached the Sweet 16 five times in school history and the national quarterfinals once. Wittenberg's NCAA Division III Tournament record is 7-9.
BREAKING NEWS: Kristin Fox has been named to the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-District IV College Division Women's Volleyball Third-Team in balloting just announced today. Fox was one of 18 student-athletes chosen from an amazingly deep, strong field of more than 100 volleyball players from throughout a five-state region. Last year, Lindsay Nelson was also so honored.