WOOSTER, Ohio – The Wittenberg Tigers overcame a challenge from Wooster to earn a 3-1 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory over the Scots.
The win was Wittenberg's 26th in a row against Wooster, dating back to a 3-1 win by the Scots in 1994. However, Wooster did win its first set against the Tigers since that 1994 confrontation. Wittenberg, ranked third in the nation, won the first set 25-11 before the Scots pulled a surprise with a 25-21 second-set victory. The Tigers bounced back in the third and fourth sets, winning by scores of 25-11 and 25-10.
Wittenberg improved to 10-2 overall and 2-0 in the NCAC while running its regular season conference winning streak to 29 in a row, dating back to 2010. Wooster dropped to 11-5 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
The Tigers were paced offensively by freshman Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) with a career-best 18 kills to go along with seven digs and three blocks. As a team, Wittenberg hit .300 or better in each of the three sets it won, compared to .146 in the set it lost. The highlight came in a dominating fourth set that featured 14 kills and one error in 24 attack attempts.
Senior Jordan Mungovan (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) led the team in assists with 34, while the defense was sparked by the play of senior Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas) with 17 digs and junior Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./North) with a career-high six blocks. Also of note was the play of senior Jessica Batanian (Sylvania, Ohio/Notre Dame) with a double-double of 11 kills and 13 digs.