SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers experienced the highs and lows of an entire season in one five-hour period Saturday in Pam Evans Smith Arena. After a dominating 3-0 win over Adrian and head-scratching 3-0 loss to 17th-ranked Calvin, the Tigers were left as one of three teams in the 2008 Border Battle with a 3-1 tournament record.
Overall, fifth-ranked Wittenberg stands at 8-1 heading into nearly a week of practice for a trip to Atlanta for the Emory Invitational, hosted by the third-ranked Eagles.
The match against Adrian, which had won its two matches on Friday in the Border Battle, was over from the opening serve - make that the opening 16 serves by Tiger junior Laura Schumaker (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee). The Tigers won the first 16 points of the match en route to a surprisingly comfortable 25-5, 25-14, 25-15 victory.
The Tigers hit .377 as a team, led by senior middle hitter Jessica Kimble (Dennison, Ohio/Claymont), who had six kills in 11 attempts. Junior middle hitterKate Snead (Westerville, Ohio/South) and senior right-side hitter Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat) also finished with six kills and attack percentages above .333.
The Tigers crashed back to earth in the final match of the weekend, losing by a 3-0 score for the first time since the 2006 national semifinals against eventual national champion Juniata. Defense continues to be an issue for Wittenberg, which continues to play without injured senior libero Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula). No Tiger player reached double figures in digs for a single match on Saturday, with the team leaders finishing with six in the loss to Calvin.
In losing 25-16, 25-17, 25-14, Snead led offensively with seven kills, while Williams added six and Kimble five. The Tigers did finish with nine team blocks, led by Kimble with four solos and three assists.