All-America setter Sarah Yuskewich

It has been more than a decade of domination in the North Coast Athletic Conference for the Wittenberg University volleyball team. Could 2004 be the year that the Tigers not only take care of all challengers in the conference but also rise to the very top of the NCAA Division III scene as well?

On paper, it appears to be a very real possibility. Coming off a 28-7 campaign in 2003, the Tigers are loaded for a run at a national title in 2004, starting with arguably the finest and deepest senior class in school history. Outside hitter Monica McDonald (Newark, Ohio/Catholic), setterSarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson), libero Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson), middle hitter Kristin Fox (Galion, Ohio/Galion) and defensive specialist Aubrey Anderson (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North) comprise a phenomenal senior class that is versatile, talented, experienced and driven. Now comes the hard part, translating all of that potential into results.

Yuskewich is the team's catalyst and will conclude her career as the most decorated volleyball player in school history. She is already a two-time first-team All-America honoree and a two-time NCAC Player of the Year, not to mention the national record-holder for assists in a season with 2,125, a mark she posted in 2002 as she led the Tigers to their best finish ever. That year, Wittenberg won the NCAC regular season and tournament titles and then captured the first NCAA Division III regional crown as well before falling in the national quarterfinals at eventual champion Wisconsin-Whitewater. She will be backed in 2004 by freshman Sarah Matesich (Granville, Ohio/Newark Catholic).

She will once again have plenty of offensive weapons at her disposal, starting with McDonald, who missed all of the 2003 season with a knee injury. A 2002 second-team All-America honoree and a two-time first-team All-NCAC choice, McDonald is one of the most powerful outside hitters in the Division III game.

McDonald is the team's top outside hitter, but she isn't the only offensive option. Junior Linda Young (Minster, Ohio/Minster), who also missed all of the 2003 season with a knee injury after transferring to Wittenberg from Miami (Ohio), figures prominently in the mix as well. Other outside hitters on the roster include freshmenJan Kehres (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance), Emily Bell (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) and Lindsey Penrod (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua) and sophomore Heather Kelly (Marion, Ohio/River Valley).

In the middle, the Tigers are loaded with Fox, a 2003 third-team All-American, and junior Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville), who was the starter a year ago while Fox moved to the outside in place of Young and McDonald. Fox led the Tigers in kills and attack percentage a year ago and Dixon ranked second in blocks. They will be joined in the rotation by freshman Caitlin Augustus (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee).

Defensively, few teams did it better than the Tigers in 2003, but three of the team's best players in that area graduated last spring. Schmid was the NCAC Libero of the Year in 2003 and an honorable mention All-America honoree after leading the team and conference in digs and ranking in the top five nationally in the category. She is on pace to break the school record for career digs.

Schmid figures to be the team's libero much of the time, but she is such a tremendous all-around player that other defensive specialists on the roster are likely to get their opportunities as well. Anderson has played sparingly thus far in her Wittenberg career, but she now has a chance to assert herself. Matesich and Kehres are also under consideration to play defensive positions in 2004.

The Tigers have a very challenging schedule again in 2004, including home invitational tournaments that feature such nationally recognized foes as Ohio Northern, Baldwin-Wallace, Franklin, Calvin and Muskingum. Wittenberg also travels to four highly competitve national invitationals hosted by Juniata, Emory, Elmhust and Washington University. The latter is the second annual Terri Clemens Invitational, which includes the top four teams in the nation (Juniata, Trinity, Washington and Wittenberg) in what might be a two day NCAA Tournament preview.