Decatur, Ill. – The third-ranked Wittenberg women's volleyball team battled the No. 18 Titans of Illinois Wesleyan on Friday evening, falling in their first match of the weekend 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-22). Kennedey Schmidt would set the pace for the Tigers, logging eight kills with a .273 kill percentage.

First Set Breakdown

The Tigers had to battle from behind to start the match, as Illinois Wesleyan took an early 7-3 lead. Wittenberg would cut the Titans lead to 16-11, after a Spartans attacking error followed by a Madison Manger ace. The Tigers would continue their comeback attempt, bringing the score to 22-18 after a kill by Schmidt landed and Illinois Wesleyan was unable to convert on their attack attempt.

Second Set Breakdown

Madison Manger would provide another ace for the Tigers in the second set, as Wittenberg would battle from behind early with the Titans leading 5-3. The Titans would force a Wittenberg timeout, taking a 10-6 advantage. A kill by Aubrey Cox would cut the Illinois Wesleyan lead in half at 14-7. The Tigers earned their final point of the set, taking advantage of the Titans service error at 16-10, as Illinois Wesleyan would go on to take the set.

Third Set Breakdown

Wittenberg would battle back and forth taking a 6-5 lead on the Karen Wildemann kill early in the set. After the Titans came back to regain the lead at 9-8, Wildemann returned fire with a service ace of her own to knot things back up at 9-9. The two sides would continue the back and forth, as Wittenberg would catch a glimpse of the lead at 19-18. Illinois Wesleyan would tie the game back up at 19-19 before going on to close out the match, going on to lead 24-19, holding off a late three-point Tiger rally. 

UP NEXT

The Tigers will hit the floor on Saturday, playing in two matches taking on Buena Vista University at 11:00 AM and Wisconsin-Whitewater at 1:00 PM from Millikin University in the Midseason Showcase.