WILMINGTON, OH. – Wittenberg Women's Volleyball added two more wins to increase its winning streak to five in a row after traveling to Wilmington's Herman Court for a tri-match against two Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) teams, the University of Mount Union and Wilmington College, on Saturday, Oct. 12.
Wittenberg's first match against Mount Union was a thriller. It took them five sets, but the Tigers came out victorious, 3-2, by scores of 25-19, 20-25, 20-25, 25-22, and 16-14. Wittenberg improved to 24-3 in the series against Mount Union, dating back to 1984. The two teams last played in 2022, and the Tigers lost in three-straight sets.
While the scores were close in this one, team totals for Wittenberg included 70 kills to just 47 for Mount Union. Wittenberg also had seven service aces, 65 assists, and 82 digs. Mount Union recorded 12 service aces, 44 assists, and 62 digs.
The Tigers were led by Sam Fincham (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge), who posted 14 kills and 14 points. Kait Colahan (Vermilion, OH / Vermilion) added 13 kills and 13 points, and Clare O'Malley (Avon, OH / St. Joseph's Academy) also had a great day with 13 kills, two blocks, and 15 points overall. Ally White (Harrison, OH / Harrison) led the team in digs with 23, Piper Ricketts (Morrow, OH / Little Miami) added 12, and
Cam Colahan (Vermilion, OH / Vermilion) added nine along with a team-high four service aces. Mary Sulfridge (South Charleston, OH / Southeastern) led the team in assists with 39.
Leading Mount Union was Heaven Bartell had 12 kills, 12 digs, and three service aces. Sadie Thomas had eight kills and three blocks. Casey Kidlow had 19 assists, nine digs and two service aces, and Haley Averi added a team-high 15 digs. Mount Union defeated Wilmington in an earlier match in three-straight sets, 25-16, 25-15, 25-13. It was an OAC contest putting the Purple Raiders at 14-7 overall and 2-1 in the OAC.
The Tigers posted its second win of the day in an easier match against Wilmington, winning in three-straight sets at 25-23, 25-18, and 25-16. Wittenberg is currently on a seven-match win streak against Wilmington and is now 10-15 in its overall series vs. the Quakers since1980.
O'Malley led the team in kills with nine and Fincham added seven. Sulfridge led the team in assists with 20 and White led the team in digs with 14. Team totals for Wittenberg included 35 kills, 96 total attacks, 34 assists, 14 service aces, and 47 digs.
Wilmington team totals included 30 kills, 108 total attacks, 26 assists, and 39 digs. The Quakers were led by Sarah Brown, who recorded eight kills, Emma Specht had 11 assists, and Logan McQuillin tallied 13 digs. The two losses put Wilmington at 4-13 overall and 0-2 in the OAC.
With the two wins on the day, Wittenberg improves to 10-6 overall. The Tigers will host Oberlin at 1p.m. for Senior Recognition Day on Sunday, Oct. 13.