SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It was business as usual for the Wittenberg Tigers as they cruised to a 3-0 victory in their opening match of the 2015 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament.
The tournament host after winning their 10th straight NCAC regular season title, Wittenberg took the measure of Allegheny by set scores of 25-18, 25-14 and 25-11. The win was fifth-ranked and top-seeded Wittenberg's 30th in a row against the Gators, the tournament's eighth seed, dating back to the 1996 NCAC Tournament.
Wittenberg, which has won 59 straight NCAC regular season matches, improved to 22-2 on the 2015 season. The Tigers extended their NCAC Tournament winning streak to 20 in a row, dating back to a 2006 loss to Hiram at Pam Evans Smith Arena.
The latest win was thorough, as Allegheny managed a negative attack percentage, compared to .270 for Wittenberg on 44 kills against 14 errors on 111 attack attempts. Leading the charge were seniors Melissa Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) and Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) with 10 kills apiece, in addition to junior Emily Kahlig (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater) with seven kills.
The setting trio of junior Courtney Huck (Decatur, Ill./St. Teresa), freshman Megan Flaherty (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) and freshman Karen Wildemann (Columbus, Ind./South) dished out 15, 17 and nine assists, respectively. The defense was spearheaded by senior libero Kristina Fultz (Batavia, Ohio/Glen Este) with 21 digs, while Seidenstricker and Emming also finished in double figures.
Also of note, the win was the 399th of Wittenberg Head Coach Paco Labrador's career.
Wittenberg advanced to the semifinal round and a date with fourth-seeded Hiram at 12 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, also in Pam Evans Smith Arena. The Tigers won 3-0 at Hiram, which advanced with a 3-0 win over Denison in the NCAC Tournament quarterfinals, during the regular season.
Written By: Ryan Maurer