BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - If the analogy can be made to climbing a mountain, then the Wittenberg Tiger volleyball team has neared the summit of the NCAA Division III Tournament each of the last three years. For the third year in a row, however, the Tigers came tantalizingly close to planting their flag at the top of the mountain before being turned away - this time by Washington University in a 3-1 loss in a national semifinal match at Illinois Wesleyan University.
The loss capped a record-breaking season for the Tigers, the No. 1 ranked team in the nation the last three weeks. By scores of 30-25, 25-30, 28-30, 15-30, Wittenberg lost for the first time in 2007 to finish with a 38-1 record. Washington University, owner of the most national titles in NCAA Division III Tournament history, improved to 32-5 and will take on Wisconsin-Whitewater in the championship match at 7 p.m. Saturday, also at Illinois Wesleyan.
The defeat also marked the end of the collegiate volleyball road for five Wittenberg seniors, a quintet that was instrumental in moving the Tigers from a respected nationally ranked program to a perennial national championship contender. As a unit, outside hitters Emily Bell, Jan Kehres and Lindsey Penrod, setter Sarah Matesich and middle hitter Caitlin Augustus combined for a 142-17 record, the best four-year stretch in school history. The Tigers won at least 34 matches each season, including a school-record 38 in 2007, captured four straight Great Lakes Region titles and competed in three consecutive Final Fours.
Washington University, which lost to Wittenberg 3-1 on Sept. 7, came into the national semifinal with a head of steam, and the Bears were the aggressors from the outset. A late run in Game 1 earned the Tigers a 30-25 win, but Washington University kept the pressure on, pulling out a 30-25 win in Game 2 and then rallying for a key 30-28 win in Game 3. The Tigers came unraveled a bit in Game 4, buckling under a barrage of pinpoint Washington University attacks as the Bears posted an amazing .630 attack percentage in Game 4 to pull away for a 30-15 win.
The Tigers appeared to have the upper hand midway through the third game when Washington University called timeout trailing 14-8. Whatever was said in that huddle was key as the Bears rallied to knot the score at 16 and then managed to hold off the Tigers late in the game. Wittenberg Head Coach Paco Labrador, who finished his fifth season at the helm with a phenomenal 170-24 career record, agreed with that assessment in the post-match press conference.
"The turning point was to get that win in Game 3," said Labrador. "They came out and served real tough in Game 4."
Statistically, the match had the look of a dead heat as Washington University finished with 64 kills, 60 assists and 87 digs, compared to 65 kills, 63 assists and 85 digs for Wittenberg. But upon closer inspection, the key differences could be found in the attack errors column (nine more for Wittenberg), team blocks (a 7.5 advantage for Washington University) and a 5-1 edge in service aces for the Bears.
Individually, Wittenberg was paced on offense by Bell with 20 kills, junior outside hitter Jackie Williams with 15 kills, Kehres with 11 kills and Augustus with eight kills and an attack percentage of .571. Matesich finished with 33 assists, while the defense was sparked by Kehres with 26 digs, junior libero Laura Fender with 22 digs and Augustus with five blocks.