SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers have competed against at least one team ranked in the top 25 each of the last two weekends, and they will again next weekend after recently adding Trinity (Texas) to the schedule at North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) rival Hiram next Saturday. The breather, as it turned out, came today in the form of a pair of 3-0 wins over Wooster and Mount Union.
The eighth-ranked Tigers finished off a 4-0 week that included three straight NCAC wins and a perfect 12-0 mark in sets. They improved to 15-2 overall and 4-0 in the NCAC, heading into a few days of practice before a long road trip next weekend that includes a Friday night match at Allegheny and a Saturday tri-match that includes the host Terriers and national powerhouse Trinity at Hiram.
Against Wooster, the Tigers prevailed by scores of 25-11, 25-15, 25-11. Senior right-side hitter Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat) and junior middle hitter Kate Snead (Westerville, Ohio/South) led the offense with 12 kills apiece, on attack percentages of .550 and .521 respectively. Junior setters Erin Slattery (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and Kendall Obreza (Gainesville, Fla./Oak Hall)split 35 assists almost evenly, finishing with 20 and 15 respectively.
Defensively, senior libero Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) was stellar with 15 digs, while freshman middle hitter Katie Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson)added four blocks.
After Wooster defeated Mount Union, 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-23), Wittenberg did the same by scores of 25-15, 25-22, 25-16. Sumner led with 11 kills on a .429 attack percentage, followed by Williams with 10 kills and a .625 attack percentage and Snead with eight kills and a .500 attack percentage. Snead also added four solo blocks.
Rounding things out, Slattery dished out 19 assists and Fender did her thing with 21 digs.