No. 3 Wittenberg Volleyball Advances To Regional Final

No. 3 Wittenberg Volleyball Advances To Regional Final
November 9, 2018

Grand Rapids, Mich. – In a North Coast Athletic Conference matchup in the second round of the NCAA Grand Rapids Regional Tournament, the Wittenberg women's volleyball team defeated DePauw University 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 28-26). For the second year in a row, the women's volleyball team will be making an appearance in the regional finals. This will be the 15th trip to the regional tournament finals for the Tigers where they currently hold an 8-6 record. With their three-set win over DePauw, Wittenberg improves to 15-4 all-time in NCAA second round matches.

Match Breakdown

Wittenberg took the early lead in the first set going up 10-6, before extending their lead out to 17-12. Then cruising on to the first set victory at 25-22. The two sides put up matching attacking percentages at .170, as both sets of Tigers tallied 15 kills on 53 total attacks with six errors in the first set. Wittenberg would slow down the DePauw attack in the second set, holding their NCAC foe to a .111 attacking percentage, while swinging .208 with 16 kills on 48 total attacks. The back and forth battle waged on as the third and final set came down to the final points. DePauw would swing above .200 (.222) for the first time in six sets against Wittenberg, while the red and white still set the pace with 21 kills on 54 total attacks for a .241 attacking percentage in the final set of the match.

Aubrey Cox and Taylor Brown set the tone for the Wittenberg offense on the night against DePauw. Cox finished the match with a team-high 18 kills, recording a .325 attacking percentage, while finishing with six blocks, six digs and three aces. Brown was the second Wittenberg player to finish with double-digit kills, posting 11 kills on 36 total attack attempts for a .278 attacking percentage. Senior Karen Wildemann finished with a team-high .417 attacking percentage, setting down five kills on 12 total attacks with no errors. Wildemann would also pace the team in assists, dishing out a team-high 41 of Wittenberg's 48 total. Providing eight kills each for the Wittenberg attack was Kennedey Schmidt and Katie Hiestand. Schmidt finished her night by adding four blocks up front for Wittenberg, while Hiestand logged a .300 attacking percentage with one block. Madison Manger (10), Megan Flaherty (10) and Taylor Yontz (19) each provided double-digit digs for the red and white against DePauw. Flaherty added two service aces and an assist against DePauw, while Yontz added four assists and Manger added one assist.

The Thread

From The Bench

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