NAPERVILLE, Ill. - As the Wittenberg Tigers neared the end of their marathon 2016 Spring Break trip, they encountered an unexpected difficulty. A flat tire delayed their arrival at North Central and the start of their Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) match against the Cardinals, and perhaps the Tigers never recovered as they dropped a 3-0 decision.

The loss moved Wittenberg back to 12-7 overall in their inaugural collegiate campaign, including a record of 2-5 in MCVL matches. The Tigers' Spring Break record is now 4-3 heading into the trip finale at league rival Loras on Saturday.

North Central snapped an eight-match losing streak to improve to 3-14 overall and 2-6 in the league.

The key to the match was a first-set win for North Central by a narrow margin of 29-27. The Cardinals built momentum from that point, attacking as a stunning .750 percentage in the second set for a 25-14 decision and then closing out the match with a 25-21 win in the third.

Wittenberg attacked at a .360 percentage in the first set but North Central kept the Tigers in check from that point. Freshman Isaiah Brock (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) led Wittenberg's offense with eight kills in 13 attack attempts for a .538 percentage, and freshman Ashton Sellers (Westerville, Ohio/Central) was also efficient with seven kills and a .545 attack percentage.

Freshman Ross Russell (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) dished out 27 assists. Defensively, Russell led with four digs as Wittenberg managed just 10 in the entire match. Brock was tops in blocks with two.

Written By: Ryan Maurer