Tigers Cap Midwest Invitational With Sweep Of Carthage, Elmhurst

Nationally-ranked Redmen and Blue Jays each take one set from Wittenberg before the Tigers prevail both times.

Megan Flaherty dished out 37 assists in wins over Carthage and Elmhurst at the Midwest Invitational. File Photo | Megan Flaherty
Megan Flaherty dished out 37 assists in wins over Carthage and Elmhurst at the Midwest Invitational. File Photo | Megan Flaherty
October 17, 2015

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Wittenberg Tigers wrapped up a stellar weekend of competition at Calvin's Midwest Invitational with a pair of 3-1 wins over nationally ranked foes Carthage and Elmhurst.

Coupled with a 3-1 loss to fifth-ranked Calvin on Friday, the weekend's results left Wittenberg with a 17-2 overall record. Carthage, ranked 11th in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, is now 21-6, and Elmhurst, the 16th-ranked team in the nation, dropped to 19-8.

The win over Carthage came by set scores of 25-14, 25-22, 19-25 and 25-19. As is her custom, senior Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) stood out with a match-high 18 kills on a .432 attack percentage to go along with 15 digs and five blocks.

Senior Melissa Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) also finished in double figures in both kills and digs with 11 and 12, respectively. The defense was led by senior Kristina Fultz (Batavia, Ohio/Glen Este) with 18 digs and junior Kendall Farmer (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) with six blocks, while the offense got a boost from junior setter Courtney Huck (Decatur, Ill./St. Teresa) and her 20 assists.

Against Elmhurst, Wittenberg again took the first two sets, this time by margins of 25-18 and 25-23. After the Blue Jays responded with a 25-20 win in the third set, Wittenberg closed it out 25-23.

The offensive force in this match was unquestionably junior Camila Quinones (Sunbury, Ohio/Worthington Christian). She piled up a career-high 16 kills on just 23 attempts without an error for a phenomenal attack percentage of .696. The percentage is higher than the school record for attack percentage in a match, but the attack total does not meet the minimum qualifying standard of 30 attempts.

Seidenstricker added plenty of support, finishing with 12 kills and a team-high 17 digs. Freshman Megan Flaherty (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) handed out 26 assists in the match, and Farmer was stellar at the net with five blocks.

Written By: Ryan Maurer