Leslie Clark

CINCINNATI, Ohio - After an 11-day layoff, the ninth-ranked Wittenberg Tigers showed some rust in the return to action, losing to Thomas More College before rebounding to defeat the host Lions in the Mount St. Joseph Invitational.

The Tigers, who only played in one day of the two-day competition, are now 2-1 overall on the 2009 season. They will return to action Friday, Sept. 18 and Saturday, Sept. 19, for the annual Border Battle in Wittenberg's HPER Center.

Against Thomas More, the Tigers lost by a 3-2 count (24-26, 25-16, 25-22, 16-25, 15-13). The offense was sparked by junior Amy Cox (Newark, Ohio/Catholic), while the defense was led by senior Leslie Clark (Marion, Ohio/Harding).

In the nightcap, the Tigers struggled the opening set, winning 26-24, before finally getting it in gear to win the second and third sets convincingly, 25-10 and 25-12. Clark was solid defensively again, digging out 15 balls. Sophomore middle hitter Katie Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson) and sophomore outside hitter Ellen Kortesoja (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) were tops offensively with seven kills apiece.

Cox was the lone Tiger named to the all-tournament team.