SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - This is a habit that the Wittenberg Tigers are starting to become accustomed to - for the fourth straight year and the fifth time in the last six years Wittenberg is headed to the national quarterfinals. The Tigers sealed the deal on their home floor Saturday with a resounding 3-0 win over Ohio Northern University in the Great Lakes Regional championship match.
Wittenberg, ranked No. 1 in the nation and owner of the only unbeaten record in all of college volleyball, improved to 37-0 and advanced to take on Stevens Institute of Technology. The match will be played Thursday, Nov. 15 at Illinois Wesleyan University. The match time will be announced at a later date.
The Tigers slowly pulled away for a 30-25 win in Game 1, used a late spurt to capture Game 2, 30-24, and then dominated Game 3 by a score of 30-22. The Polar Bears, champion of the Ohio Athletic Conference, concluded its season with a 29-7. It was the second 3-0 win for Wittenberg over Ohio Northern in the 2007 season.
The difference in the match was a Tiger defense that produced 71 digs and eight team blocks, compared to 54 digs and nine team blocks for ONU. Wittenberg's phenomenal trio of outside hitters Emily Bell and Jan Kehres and libero Laura Fender combined for 60 digs, including numerous sprawling, athletic saves that led to momentum-changing points. Fender ranks third in career digs, Bell fourth and Kehres sixth on the school record list.
Caitlin Augustus, who broke the school record for career blocks in Friday's regional semifinal win over Heidelberg, continued her fine play around the net with six blocks.
The two offenses generated fairly even statistics, but the glaring number in the final boxscore was 15 service errors by Ohio Northern, compared to two for Wittenberg. Many of the ONU errors came on crucial points, including the final one of the match. On the flip side, the Tigers posted five service aces, including two each from Erin Slattery and Augustus, compared to two for the Polar Bears.
Wittenberg's offense was led by Bell as she pounded a match-high 17 kills, while Jessica Kimble added nine kills on a .400 attack percentage. Ohio Northern was paced by Liz Schnelle with 15 kills and an attack percentage of .406, backed by Samantha Markham with 11 kills and a .375 attack percentage. The Tigers split their assists evenly with 21 apiece from Sarah Matesich, who ranks fourth in school history with 2766 career assists, and Slattery, while ONU picked up a match-high 38 assists from Katie Weininger.
Now with North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles in hand, and a regional crown to go with it, the Tigers set their sets on the ultimate prize. It has eluded them each of the last two years with losses to Juniata College in the national semifinals.