Men's Volleyball Drops Home MCVL Match to Benedictine, 3-1

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—Wittenberg had a quick turnaround Saturday afternoon after losing to Dominican University the previous night, as Benedictine University came to town for yet another MCVL matchup. Wittenberg managed to take the opening set of the match, but in the end fell 3-1 to visiting Benedictine; 25-20, 18-25, 15-25, and 15-25. The Tigers inaugural season moves to a record of 6-4 overall, and 0-4 in MCVL play.

SET 1

• Joel Sotos (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) managed back-to-back aces early in the set, giving the Tigers a 9-5 lead.
• As Dylan Kolovitz (Chicago, Illinois/St. Patrick) toed the service-line, Benedictine was forced into their first timeout of the match, as the Tigers went up 15-10.
• In a quick turn of events, Benedictine was forced to take yet another timeout as a Charles Atkinson (Mount Vernon, Ohio/Mount Vernon) attack ended up as a kill from a beautiful set by Justin Luby (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), pushing the lead to 17-11.
• Wittenberg cruised to a 22-18 lead before another Kolovitz kill put the home team up 23-18 in the opening set.
• Ross Russell (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) took care of the rest of the set for the Tigers from the service line, as the red and white won the first set, 25-20.

SET 2

• The Tigers fell behind 6-4 before taking a timeout to slow down the Benedictine offense.
• Out of the timeout, the Tigers fell victim to a Benedictine run, finding themselves quickly down 12-5.
• As momentum began to shift, Luby connected on a kill that got the Tigers within striking distance at 15-10.
• With momentum back on their side, the combination of a Kolovitz kill, followed by a Benedictine error put the set at 21-18 Benedictine.
• Down the stretch the Tigers defense could not stop Benedictine's late run, falling 25-18 in set number two.

SET 3

• Set number three was all Benedictine early and often, as Wittenberg struggled to get anything going, falling behind 23-12.
• Isaiah Brock (Noblesville, Indiana/Noblesville) put together back-to-black blocks, getting the Tigers back on the board at 23-15.
• Wittenberg could not stifle the visitor's offense, dropping the set 25-15.

SET 4

• Wittenberg trailed early 7-4, but senior Matt Briskey (Dublin, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) hit his stride, connecting on a kill from Russell to get the Tigers close.
• Atkinson's ace propelled Wittenberg within one-point in the decisive set, as Pam Evans Smith Arena erupted as Benedictine took a timeout.
• Wittenberg's momentum stopped here, as Benedictine regained control, winning the set 25-15 and the match, 3-1.

KEY STATS

• Briskey followed up his impressive Friday night match, as the senior south-paw connected on eight more kills in his teams efforts.
• Kolovitz led all Tigers with nine kills, while Russell led with nine digs.
• The Tigers finished Saturday with a kill-percentage of .133.

UP NEXT

• Wittenberg returns to action next Friday, February 19 at home, against Olivet. The MCVL match is set for 7:00PM.

Written By: Kuris Duggan