Sarah Matesich led the Tigers in assists in 2005.

The Wittenberg University volleyball team put together the finest overall season in school history in 2005, advancing to the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals for the first time ever and finishing with a mark of 34-5, just one win short of the school record for wins in a season. All of this was accomplished with a completely revamped roster after four All-Americans in a class of five seniors graduated following the 2004 season.

Ironically, the Tigers saw their run of eight consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference regular season championships come to an end in 2005. Wittenberg lost at Hiram on Oct. 7, although the Tigers bounced back to defeat the Terriers on their home court in the NCAC Tournament title match a month later. That extended Wittenberg’s streak of conference tourney championships to nine in a row and earned the Tigers an automatic berth in the national tournament for the 10th straight year and 11th time in the last 12 seasons.

The Tigers barreled through the Great Lakes Regional for the third time in four seasons, defeating Fontbonne, Ohio Northern and Calvin on their home court. Wittenberg then made it through to the national quarterfinals for the first time in school history, defeating New York University 3-2 before falling in the semis to defending national champion Juniata, also by a 3-2 count. Two of Wittenberg’s five losses in 2005 came in 3-2 results to Juniata.

Wittenberg’s NCAC record 63-match win streak came to an end against Hiram. It stretched an amazing nine years, dating back to a 3-2 loss at Case Western on Oct. 18, 1997.

The Tigers did manage to extend their NCAC Tournament win streak to 24 in 2005. Their last loss in the conference tourney came on Nov. 9, 1996 at Ohio Wesleyan.

Freshman outside hitter Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat), the team leader in kills per game, earned NCAC Newcomer of the Year honors en route to a spot on the conference’s first team. She was joined on the All-NCAC first team by sophomore outside hitter Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran), who topped the Tigers in kills and ranked third in digs. Bell added first-team All-Great Lakes Region and honorable mention All-America honors, all for the first time in her collegiate career.

Senior middle hitter Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville), the team leader in blocks and the NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, was selected second-team All-NCAC. In addition, Dixon’s 24 blocks in two matches at last weekend’s national tournament earned her a place on the NCAA Division III All-Tournament team. Dixon is the first player in Wittenberg or NCAC history to ever make the NCAA Division III All-Tournament team.

Dixon joined Bell on the All-Great Lakes Region team. Williams was an honorable mention selection.

Jan Kehres ranked second on the team in kills and digs in 2005.

While the Tigers are going to miss their senior leaders of 2005, the future is clearly now as the remaining players look toward a promising 2006 season. Six starters are slated to return to the lineup.

The team has no rising seniors in 2006, making the outstanding sophomore class of 2005, including Bell, underrated outside hitter Jan Kehres (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance), emerging middle hitter Caitlin Augustus (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), setter Sarah Matesich (Granville, Ohio/Newark Catholic) and outside hitter Lindsey Penrod (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua), the veteran leaders.

Bell broke right into the lineup as a freshman and has earned the most accolades among the group thus far, but Kehres served notice in 2005 that the best was yet to come. In tandem, Bell and Kehres are two of the best all-around players in the Great Lakes Region, each ranking among the top three on the team in both kills and digs.

Matesich was exemplary in her first go-around as a starter in 2005, leading the Tigers with 1,061 assists while splitting time with sophomore Ashley Anderson (Northbrook, Ill./Glenbrook North). Augustus was the perfect complement to Dixon in the middle for the Tigers, ranking second on the team in blocks, and Penrod has been in the rotation in each of her first two seasons in the Red & White.

The freshman class of 2005 produced a pair of contributors in their inaugural collegiate campaign as Williams hit her stride in midseason and became a force on the outside with more than 300 kills. The Tigers’ libero was freshman Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula), who topped the team with 727 digs despite struggling with a knee injury.

Once again, the Wittenberg volleyball program made great strides both on the court and in the classroom.

As a team, Wittenberg was one of 274 high school and college programs to earn the 2004-05 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award. The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors men’s and women’s college and high school teams that display excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale during the school year.

Linda Young was a key part of a potent, unpredictable Tiger offense in 2005.

The 2005 Wittenberg volleyball team was just that - a team. The Tigers were an ensemble cast, complete with solid defensive players and setters, an array of offensive weapons and outstanding blockers up the middle. The team attitude was best exemplified by its two seniors, Dixon and Linda Young (Minster, Ohio/Minster).

Dixon established new standards for middle hitters in the Wittenberg program. After seeing no varsity action as a freshman, Dixon blossomed in her final three collegiate seasons and became a force by the end of her senior year. She set the school record with 160 blocks in the 2005 season, and she set the bar with 361 career blocks as well. Dixon also finished among the team leaders with 200 kills in 2005.

Young transferred from Miami in 2003 and promptly suffered a knee injury near the start of that season. Hampered by the injury in 2004, she played sparingly. But in 2005, Young came on strong, finishing with 290 kills and 89 blocks, ranking fourth and third on the team respectively. Her shining moment came in the Great Lakes Regional Tournament as she heated up against Ohio Northern in the semifinals, finishing with 19 kills in 32 attempts and an attack percentage of .500.

Paco Labrador (Hiram '95), completed his third season as the Tigers’ head coach. He sports a phenomenal 97-15 overall record, including a 23-1 mark in the NCAC through his first three seasons in the Red & White. He has led the Tigers to two NCAC regular season and three NCAC tournament championships, and his teams have two regional titles and a 7-3 record in three consecutive NCAA Division III Tournament appearances.