Tigers Get Back On Track With 3-1 Win Over Greenville

Justin Luby contributed 12 kills to the offensive attack in a 3-1 win over Greenville. File Photo | Nick Falzerano
Justin Luby contributed 12 kills to the offensive attack in a 3-1 win over Greenville. File Photo | Nick Falzerano

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers did the job both offensively and defensively, putting three players in double figures for kills and four players in double figures for digs in a 3-1 win over Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) rival Greenville.

The win snapped a modest three-game slide for the Tigers, who improved to 13-8 overall and 3-6 in the MCVL in their first season as an intercollegiate program. Wittenberg won the match by set scores of 25-17, 18-25, 25-16 and 27-25 to send Greenville to records of 13-10 overall and 4-5 in the league.

The Tigers attacked at a relatively modest percentage of .210, but Wittenberg held a 54-43 advantage in kills. Greenville's attack was held in check in large part due to the Tigers' best defensive performance of the campaign - Wittenberg finished with 80 digs, which was a whopping 18 more than their previous high.

A trio of Tigers reached double figures in kills, led by freshman Dylan Kolovitz (Chicago, Ill./St. Patrick) with 13 and freshman Justin Luby (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) with 12. Freshman Ashton Sellers (Westerville, Ohio/Central) was particularly efficient attacking through the middle with 10 kills in 18 attempts without an error for a robust percentage of .556.

Freshman Ross Russell (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) dished out 47 assists to go along with match-highs of four service aces and 17 digs. He was joined in double figures defensively by freshman Joel Sotos (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) with 15, Luby with 13 and freshman Nathan Matthews (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) with 10. Sellers did his best work defensively at the net with a team-best three blocks.

Written By: Ryan Maurer