SPRINGFIELD, OH – Wittenberg's Men's Volleyball downed visiting Wabash, 3-0, in the first Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) match of the season for both teams. Witt defeated the Little Giants by set scores of 25-20, 25-15, and 25-13 on Thursday, Feb. 27, at Pam Evans Smith Arena, part of the Health, Wellness & Athletics Complex.

The Tigers turned in a stellar hitting percentage of .339 for the match. Wabash, on the other hand, had a rough night against a stout Wittenberg defense, landing just 24 kills against 25 hitting errors for a percentage of negative .012.

There were eight ties in the first set before the Tigers pulled away after being deadlocked at 11-all. From there, the Tigers put it on cruise control, starting out strong in the second set by jumping out to a 9-3 lead en route to a big win, and then picking right up in Set 3 by jumping out to a 10-3 lead that would never be threatened.  

With the victory, Wittenberg improves to 14-8 on the season and 1-0 in the conference while Wabash drops to 11-2 overall and 0-1 in the MCVL.

Team Leaders  

• Eli Halverson (Hamilton, OH / Badin) and Michael Yurk (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard) led the team with six kills each on 14 and 15 total attacks, respectively. Halverson led the team in points with 10.5 and added three service aces, four digs, one block assist, and one solo block. Yurk added four digs and six points. 
•  Adam Blair (West Chester, OH / Lakota West) and Zach Newton (Morgantown, WV / Franklin Community) each recorded five kills. Blair had seven total attacks, one solo block, four block assists, and eight points. Newton had 13 total attacks, one dig, one solo block, two block assists, and seven points.
• Jake Downs (Cincinnati, OH / Milford) had a team-high six digs.
• Carson Hill (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) led the team in assists with 19 and added four kills on four total attacks, five digs, and two block assists.

 Team Comparison 

• Wittenberg led in most categories with 29 kills on 59 total attacks, 21 assists, four service aces, and 22 digs.
• Wabash tallied 24 kills on 80 total attacks and had 24 assists, two service aces, and 17 digs.

Up Next

Wittenberg will take on #12 ranked Baldwin Wallace on the road on Friday, March 14 at 7 p.m. in another MCVL match.