Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University volleyball has been a fixture in the national rankings for more than a decade, and the 2014 season will start no differently as the Tigers check in at No. 7 in the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division III poll.
Wittenberg is coming off a 2013 season in which the Tigers finished with a record of 25-9 overall and a No. 8 national ranking in the final poll. The 2011 NCAA Division III national champion, Wittenberg compiled 1,084 points in the poll to trail defending national champion Calvin, Emory, Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Hope, St. Thomas (Minn.) and Cal Lutheran, in that order.
Wittenberg ranks fifth in NCAA Division III history with 205 appearances in the weekly poll, which debuted in 1992. The Tigers have finished every season ranked in the final national top 25 since 1999.
The Tigers captured their 19th North Coast Athletics Conference (NCAC) regular season and tournament titles in 2013 and played top-ranked Calvin on its home floor in the NCAA Division III Tournament Round of 16 for a fourth straight season. The winner of that match has gone on to capture the national championship three of the last four years, including 2013 when the Knights pulled out a tense 3-2 decision en route to the NCAA crown.
Wittenberg has lost just three matches in NCAC competition since 1997, and just two since Head Coach Paco Labrador took the reins in 2003. Overall in Labrador’s 10 years on the bench, the Tigers have compiled a phenomenal 348-55 record. He leads active NCAA Division III coaches with an .875 win percentage and ranks second among active coaches in all NCAA divisions.
A promising 2014 season opens with Aug. 29-30 with the Wittenberg Courtyard Marriott National Invitational, which includes Hope, Johns Hopkins and St. Thomas (Minn.). The challenging non-conference schedule also includes nationally ranked foes Juniata, Calvin, Washington University, Trinity, Otterbein and Mount Union. Wittenberg opens NCAC regular season play Saturday, Sept. 20, at Wooster.
A total of 16 letterwinners return to the roster in 2014, including five starters, led by junior All-American right-side hitter Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder), the 2012 NCAA Division III Freshman of the Year. She will be joined on the attack by senior setter Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Perry), who joined Seidenstricker on the 2013 All-Great Lakes Region honor roll.
Written By: Ryan Maurer