Beaver Falls, PA – The Wittenberg University men's volleyball team started their weekend road trip, taking on the Geneva College Golden Tornadoes, falling in a hard-fought five-set match 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 18-25, 25-17, 12-15). Wittenberg was led by Jackson Tyler on the night with 16 kills, on 51 total attack attempts, adding two blocks to his total. James Trowbridge posted a team-high hitting percentage at .600, putting down 11 kills on 15 swings with just two errors, adding five blocks with three digs to his total. Collin Buelow and Russell Burke each added double-digit kills on the night with 14 apiece for the Tigers. Burke posted a .414 kill percentage, adding an ace and 12 digs to his total. Noah Wissel tallied a career-high 51 assists, adding two kills and 14 digs, along with an ace to his credit.

Match Breakdown

The Tigers opened the match with a .214 hitting percentage, putting down 11 kills on 28 total attacks in the first set. The Tigers took an early 3-0 lead to start the match, before quickly expanding their advantage to 10-5. The Tigers battled a Geneva rally in the first holding onto a 15-13 advantage, coming off the kill from Trowbridge. The two sides traded points, as Wittenberg saw their final lead of the first set 17-16, before fighting back to within one a 23-22 and 24-23. Wittenberg kept swinging in the second set, posting a .359 attacking percentage with 19 kills while holding Geneva to a .128 attacking marker. The Tigers quickly jumped out on top in the second, holding a 5-3 advantage over the Golden Tornadoes. The Red and White maintained their lead throughout the set, holding on at 18-14 during the Burke service rally. The Tigers fought until the end to take the second set, holding a 24-21 advantage over Geneva, before Buelow put down the final kill of the set. Geneva took the first points of a set for the first time in the third set. Wittenberg fought back to within two, trailing 8-6 after the ball-handling error by the Golden Tornadoes. Geneva would hold onto their lead taking the set 25-18. Wittenberg got back to getting early points on the board, holding a 10-6 advantage in the fourth set. A blocking error by Geneva, followed by a kill from Burke helped to extend the Tiger lead out to 18-13. The Tigers kept their foot down, following a kill from Burke Wittenberg took their lead out to 24-15, before sealing the win at 25-17. It was a battle in the fifth set, as the two sides traded points through the early going with the scoring showing tied at 4-4. Wittenberg remained in the fight, coming off the kill form Tyler to stay within one, trailing 10-9.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 22, continuing their road trip taking on the Terriers from Hiram College at 2:00 PM.