Tigers Defeat Denison To Wrap Up Title

GRANVILLE, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers overwhelmed yet another North Coast Athletic Conference rival on Wednesday, defeating Denison 3-0 on the Big Red's home court to finish off a seventh straight perfect conference regular season. The game scores were 30-21, 30-28, 30-15, the eighth straight time in the 2004 season that an NCAC foe has been defeated without earning even a game off the Tigers.

The big team news was the conference championship, the Tigers' 10th regular season title and 11th in the last 12 years, but there was also individual news of importance. Senior Emilie Schmid continued her march up the career digs charts, breaking the Wittenberg record set by Beth Green a decade ago. Schmid now has 2,200 career digs, putting her just 18 shy of the NCAC mark of 2,218 set by Allegheny's Joy Kosiewicz, who played from 1991-94. Schmid is also just the 14th player in NCAA Division III history to reach the 2,200-career dig plateau.

Schmid finished with 34 digs in the match, while classmate Monica McDonald had another outstanding effort with a double-double of 24 digs and 14 kills. Junior Emily Dixon finished with 14 kills and four blocks while playing in her hometown of Granville, while senior Sarah Yuskewich was generous as usual, distributing 44 assists.

The second-ranked Tigers are back in action on Friday and Saturday at the Elmhurst Tournament in Illinois. The Tigers are scheduled to play against Hope College and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville in pool play on Friday. Saturday's action will be determined by placement in the individual pools on Friday. The Tigers will take a 20-1 overall record into the tournament, including an NCAC mark of 8-0.