SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—The Wittenberg Tigers men's volleyball team continued its impressive start to its program's inaugural season this weekend. The Tigers were able to finish 3-0 over the weekend against nationally ranked talent.
The Jim Coleman Memorial Tournament played host to top-notch volleyball all weekend long, and the youthful Tigers stood tall, defeating California Lutheran University Friday night and North Central College Saturday.
To top things off, playing to a packed house in Pam Evans Smith Arena, the Tiger's saved their best performance for last, defeating the #7 ranked team in the land, Juniata in five sets. All weekend long the Tigers offense fired on all cylinders, behind Justin Luby (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), Dylan Kolovitz (Chicago, Illinois/St. Patrick), Joel Sotos (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman), and Ross Russell (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit).
The quartet of freshman combined for 71 kills, 48 digs, and 65.5 points on Saturday. Russell was all over the court throughout the tournament, earning Jim Coleman Memorial All-Tournament Team honors.
NORTH CENTRAL NOTES
- Wittenberg won the match three sets to one; 25-21, 14-25, 25-18, and 25-15.
- Luby led all hitters with 11 kills for a .292 kill-percentage.
- Isaiah Brock (Noblesville, Indiana/Noblesville) contributed 8.5 points to the cause, sending home six kills of his own.
- As a team, Wittenberg connected on 42 kills as a team in the match, with 14 coming in the fourth and final set.
JUNIATA NOTES
- It took five sets for the Tigers to produce their first win against a ranked opponent in program history; 13-25, 26-24, 18-25, 26-24, and 16-14.
- Luby shined late for the Tigers in the decisive fifth set, as Wittenberg took over with the score knotted at 12.
- The Tigers were able to go on a run thanks to the combination of Luby's clutch serves and Sotos' late, clutch kills to finish the match.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- California Lutheran: Hunter Horn, Senior OH, (Lancaster, California/Quartz Hill HS)
- Carthage: J.P. Tulacka, Senior MB, (Westmont, Illinois/Downers Grove-North)
- Eastern Mennonite: Jared Jolly, Freshman OH, (Temple Terrace, Florida/C. Leon King)
- Juniata: Chad Albert, Senior MB, (Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania/ Seneca Valley)
- MSOE: Josh Dougherty, Senior L/DS, (Villa Park, Illinois/Willowbrook)
- Mount St. Joseph: Alex Vohland, Junior OH, (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West)
- North Central: Jacob Zemba, Freshman S, (Derry, Pennsylvania/Derry Area)
- Wittenberg: Ross Russell, Freshman S, (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit)
FULL TOURNAMENT RESULTS
UP NEXT
- The Tigers return to action this February 5, at Lakeland. Schedules start is 8:00pm
Written By: Kuris Duggan