Huntingdon, Pa. – The Wittenberg University men's volleyball team closed out their trip to the Juniata Tournament, closing out the final day against Daemen College and host Juniata College. The Tigers split the day, first taking down Daemen 3-1 (25-22, 18-25, 25-18, 25-13) before falling to Juniata 3-1 (26-24, 25-16, 23-25, 25-23) in the final match of the day. Ashton Sellers was named to the All-Tournament Team, collecting 13 kills with three blocks against Daemen, before recording 20 kills on 38 attempts with just four errors swinging .421 against Juniata.

Match One Breakdown

 Wittenberg battled Daemen through the first set, picking up 16 kills on 34 attempts and logging a .176 attacking percentage. The Red and White had to bounce back after dropping the second set to Daemen. Wittenberg responded by holding the Wildcats to a .000 attacking percentage in the third set. The Tigers closed the match out, swinging .333 with 13 kills on 30 attempts and just three errors. Collin Buelow (12) and Deion Woodson (10) each finished with double-digit kills on the afternoon against the Wildcats, adding 21 digs between them. Ross Russell facilitated the Tiger offense, recording 37 of the 45 Wittenberg assists in the match. Isaiah Brock finished the match swinging .500 with six kills on 10 attempts and just one error, adding four aces and two blocks.

Match Two Breakdown

Wittenberg overcame a two-set deficit in their match against Juniata, battling through the first set to a tough 26-24 final. The Tigers logged a .387 attacking percentage in the first set, planting 17 kills on 31 attempts with just five errors. Juniata raced out to take the second set 25-16. Wittenberg was not going down without a fight, logging 17 kills on 27 total attacks with just three errors, taking the third set from Juniata 25-23. It was a battle in the fourth set, as Juniata took the match from the Tigers at 25-23. Sellers (20) and Woodson (12) tallied double-digit kills in two straight matches for the Red and White. Woodson logged a .269 attacking percentage, planting 12 kills on 26 attempts, adding three service aces and five digs. Brock recorded seven kills on 12 attack attempts, with five blocks and two digs. Russell tallied 20 assists and 13 digs, while Noah Wissel recorded 16 assists with two digs.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 2 traveling to Mount. St. Joseph University for two matches beginning at 12:00 PM. The Tigers will face Thomas More College in their second match that day at 2:00 PM.