SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers did more than take care of business in a 3-0 victory over Denison. The 10th-ranked team in the nation gave notice that it may be rounding into top form at just the right time of year.
The win was Wittenberg's fifth in a row and 17th against three losses since a 2-5 start to the 2013 season. The Tigers head into Friday's regular season finale against the University of Northwestern Ohio with an overall record of 19-8, which includes seven losses against teams currently ranked in the top 15 nationally and a defeat at NCAA Division II rival Cedarville.
More importantly, the win over Denison moved Wittenberg to 8-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC), and it secured hosting rights for the league's annual postseason tournament. The Big Red fell into a three-way tie for second place in the final NCAC regular season standings. By virtue of tiebreaker criteria, Denison will be the No. 3 seed in the tourney, sandwiched between Hiram and DePauw.
The Tigers won their 38th consecutive match against Denison, dating back to 1991, and they closed the conference regular season slate on a 43-match winning streak that dates back to 2010. Wittenberg heads into the NCAC Tournament riding a 13-match winning streak in that competition, dating back to a home loss to Hiram in 2006.
Wittenberg was convincing in its victory, claiming the sets by margins of 25-12, 25-7, 25-9. It was an outstanding performance both offensively and defensively, as the Tigers attacked at a robust .348 clip, compared to -.078 for the Big Red.
Leading the charge was senior Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./North). She piled up 13 kills on just 19 swings without making an error for a phenomenal attack percentage of .684. In addition, Behling nearly closed out the second set by herself, stringing 11 straight service points together.
Sophomore Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) added eight kills and 10 digs, one behind junior libero Kiah Murray (Yorktown, Ind./Yorktown) in the latter category. Junior setter Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Perry) rounded out the stats leaders with 29 assists, three blocks and nine digs.