For most teams, a 2-1 record in a week is generally positive. But Wittenberg volleyball isn't most teams. The Tigers aspire to be something different, something better than the average, and for eight years they had no peer in the North Coast Athletic Conference. But before a rowdy, standing-room-only crowd at Hiram on Friday, the Tigers saw their 63-match NCAC regular season win streak come to an end.
Hiram, the NCAC runner-up each of the last two years, is now in the drivers' seat as the 2005 regular season title chase draws toward a close. The Tigers, who haven't lost in NCAC Tournament play since 1996, will likely have to hit the road to defend their title at Hiram in early November.
All is hardly lost, however. Wittenberg remains the top ranked team in the state of Ohio and the NCAC at No. 7 in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Tigers are 18-4 overall and 6-1 in the NCAC, and this weekend they are heading to a tournament hosted by California State-East Bay (formerly Hayward). The host team, which Wittenberg plays on Friday evening, is also ranked nationally.
Statistically, the Tigers remain extremely balanced. Most notably, senior middle hitter Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville) and sophomore middle hitter Caitlin Augustus (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) are both averaging more than one block per game to rank among the NCAC leaders. Sophomore outside hitters Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) and Jan Kehres (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance)are first and second on the team in kills with 195 and 193 respectively, and they rank second and third in digs with 345 and 335 respectively. The team leader in digs is freshman Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula), whose 431 digs rank among the NCAC and NCAA Division III leaders.