GAMBIER, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers opened the 2006 North Coast Athletic Conference season with a comfortable 3-0 win at Kenyon College.
Resting most of his starters as the Tigers get a breather between top-notch competition in back-to-back weekend tournaments, Head Coach Paco Labrador got a fine performance from a mostly freshman lineup. By game scores of 30-25, 30-14, 30-25, Wittenberg improved to 6-3 overall and 1-0 in the NCAC.
The offense got a spark from a trio of up-and-coming freshman outside hitters.Katherine Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) led with nine kills, Kate Snead (Westerville, Ohio/South) chipped in with seven kills and Laura Schumaker (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) added six kills and two aces.
The primary setter on this night was freshman Kendall Obreza (Gainesville, Fla./Oak Hall), and she responded with 25 assists. Defensively, the Tigers picked up a strong performance from freshman Brittany Gordon (Los Altos, Calif./Kings Academy), who finished with 26 digs.
That sets the stage for another busy weekend, starting with a key NCAC match on Friday back in the HPER Center against Denison. The Tigers then host the Border Battle, pitting four of the top teams from Ohio against four of the top teams in Michigan. Last year, Ohio teams claimed 14 of the 16 matches.