ATLANTA, Ga. - The Wittenberg Tigers put the finishing touches on what has to be considered a successful weekend road trip to Emory University with a pair of wins Saturday. Victories over Washington and Lee (3-1) and Maryville (3-0) ran the Tigers' record to 3-1 in the two-day Emory Invitational.
Overall, the seventh-ranked Tigers are now 11-2 on the 2008 season. They return to North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) action at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 24 at Ohio Wesleyan.
The first win Saturday came by scores of 25-18, 25-17, 20-25, 25-19. Senior liberoLaura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) led the defense with 22 digs, while junior setter Erin Slattery (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) paced the offense with 33 assists. Senior outside hitter Kathleen Graham (Bowling Green, Ohio/St. Ursula)topped the squad in kills with 12, while junior middle hitter Kate Snead (Westerville, Ohio/South) added nine.
Against Maryville (Tenn.), the Tigers had an easier time of it, winning by scores of 25-15, 25-23, 25-16. Freshman middle hitter Katie Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson) played well, finishing with 13 kills and no errors in extended playing time created in part by an injury to senior middle hitter Jessica Kimble (Dennison, Ohio/Claymont). Senior right-side hitter Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat) added seven kills and freshman right-side hitter Catherine Farny (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) contributed six kills to the attack.
Slattery combined with junior setter Kendall Obreza (Gainesville, Fla./Oak Hall) for more than 30 assists, while Fender was the leader on defense again with 17 digs. Junior outside hitter Leslie Clark (Marion, Ohio/Harding) added 14 digs.
Graham and Fender were named to the all-tournament team.