SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg University womens volleyball
team hosts its annual Wittenberg National Invitational this
weekend, featuring the usual array of high-quality competition.
Five teams will compete over a two-day span, beginning at 2:30
p.m., Friday, Oct. 11 and winding up with championship and third
place matches at 2p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12. The teams will compete on
two courts in Wittenbergs HPER Center.
Along with host Wittenberg, competing in this years National
Invitational are Nazareth, Thomas More, R.I.T. and Baldwin-Wallace.
Three of these teams are nationally ranked in the latest NCAA
Division III American Volleyball Coaches Association poll: Nazareth
(23), Baldwin-Wallace (20) and Wittenberg (13). All three are
ranked in the top 10 in their respective regions.
"We are thrilled about hosting a tournament of this caliber," said
Wittenberg head coach Connie Surowicz, now in her ninth season with
the Tigers. "The level of competition will be very intense, and we
are excited to see how we will stack up."
Wittenberg will also host a new volleyball tournament this year
called the Tiger National Quad. Scheduled for Friday, Nov. 1 and
Saturday, Nov. 2, that competition will feature Juniata University,
ranked No. 3 in the country and the third-place finisher in the
2001 NCAA Division III tournament, Washington University, ranked
No. 1 in the country and a national quarterfinalist a year ago, the
College of Mt. St. Joseph, ranked No. 8 in the country and winner
of seven straight matches the last three years against Wittenberg,
and the host Tigers, winners of the last five North Coast Athletic
Conference regular season and tournament titles.
The Tigers head into the weekend with an 19-4 record, including a
perfect 6-0 mark in the NCAC. The squad recently captured first
place in the Wittenberg Invitational and they also have three
second-place finishes to their credit in 2002 tournaments at Mount
St. Joseph, West Florida and Washington University. They are
currently riding a 10-match win streak.
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