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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A convincing 3-0 sweep of 13th-ranked Heidelberg moved the fifth-ranked Wittenberg Tigers into their ninth NCAA Division III Tournament regional championship match.
For the fourth time ever and second year in a row, the opponent in the regional final will be Calvin College. The Knights upended the Tigers on their home floor a year ago en route to a national title.
Both teams took care of business in the regional semifinals, starting with Wittenberg's 3-0 shutout of Heidelberg, winner of the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title. Calvin then defeated arch-rival Hope for a fourth time in 2011, also by a 3-0 count. The Knights are unbeaten, including a tense 3-2 win over Wittenberg on Sept. 16, and ranked No. 1 in the country.
The win over Heidelberg was Wittenberg's 26th all-time in NCAA Division III Tournament action and second in as many nights by a 3-0 score. After the Tigers cruised past Rose-Hulman in the first round, they were forced to rally in the opening set before pulling out the win over the Student Princes by set scores of 25-23, 25-22, 25-16.
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Heidelberg held the lead for much of the first set, but trailing 18-16 the Tigers finally put it together, reeling off six of the next seven points. The Student Princes rallied to tie the set at 23-23 before senior middle hitter Katie Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson) finished things in style with a pair of blocks.
Heidelberg again jumped out to a lead in the second set before junior setter Hallie Donathan (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) took the serve. Trailing 9-6, the Tigers scored six straight points to take control of the match. Heidelberg pulled back into a tie at 13-13, but the Tigers scored 11 of the next 17 points and then held on for the win.
With all the momentum on their side, the Tigers finished things off with a dominant third set. It was the second time in 2011 that Wittenberg defeated Heidelberg by a 3-0 score.
Sumner was strong on the attack, finishing with seven kills and no attack errors on 20 attempts. She added four blocks.
While Sumner was doing much of the dirty work in the interior, senior outside hitter Kimmie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) was turning in an outstanding all-around effort as well. She contributed 13 kills and a .355 attack percentage on offense to go along with 13 digs and four blocks defensively.
Written By: Ryan Maurer
Action Photo By: Paul Evans