SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Coming off a heart-breaking loss to No. 1-ranked Washington University earlier in the day, the Wittenberg Tigers showed tremendous resilience against Hope, bouncing back from a slow start to pick up a 3-1 win to conclude Day 1 of the Wittenberg Fall Classic.
The Tigers improved to 7-1 on the season, in the process handing Hope its first loss of 2012 as the Flying Dutch dropped to 10-1 overall. The win against seventh-ranked Hope pushed the second-ranked Tigers' record against nationally ranked opponents to 5-1 on the season.
After Wittenberg pulled out to an 11-7 lead in the opening set, Hope rallied, evening things at 17-17 before embarking on a decisive 8-4 run to secure the win, 25-21. The Tigers didn't waste any time rallying, however, running off the first four points of the second set to set the tone for a 25-19 win.
The third set was all Wittenberg, a 25-13 decision, but Hope appeared to be well on its way to evening the match in the fourth, leading 20-14. That is when Wittenberg Head Coach Paco Labrador did some mixing and matching with his lineup, to surprising effect.
Perhaps the reserve player who made the biggest impact was freshman Callan Swaim (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville), who made her first appearance of the weekend with the Tigers trailing 20-15. She served the next six points to pull the Tigers back even. Then, with the score tied at 22, freshman Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Plain City) went back to work, pounding three kills in the last four points to carry Wittenberg to a 25-22 victory.
Seidenstricker led the Tigers with 19 kills in the match, to go along with 18 digs. Senior Jessica Batanian (Sylvania, Ohio/Notre Dame) added 11 kills and 14 digs, while junior Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./North) pounded 10 kills.
Defensively, senior libero Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas) finished with 22 digs. Senior setter Hallie Donathan (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) added 11 digs to go along with team-high 20 assists.