HIRAM, Ohio - For the first time in nine years, the Wittenberg Tigers were forced to do it the hard way, but the end result was the same as they romped to a 3-1 win at Hiram in the title match of the 2005 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.

With the win, the Tigers secured the NCAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 30-4 overall record. Ranked sixth in the nation and first in the Great Lakes Region, the Tigers, who swept fourth-seeded Denison, 3-0, in Friday night's semifinal match, will learn their postseason fate late Sunday night when the NCAA announces the brackets for this year's tournament. This will be Wittenberg's 10th straight consecutive year and 11th appearance overall in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Against Hiram, which had ended a 63-match win streak for Wittenberg in NCAC regular season play on Oct. 7, the Tigers split the first two games before rolling in the final two and claiming the title. After Wittenberg made an early statement with a 30-27 win in Game 1, Hiram evened things up with a 30-24 win in Game 2. Wittenberg then sprinted to 30-25 and 30-27 wins in the final two games. It was Wittenberg's 24th straight win in NCAC Tournament play, dating back to a 3-2 loss against Ohio Wesleyan in the 1996 championship match.

The key for the Tigers was defense as senior middle hitter Emily Dixon and senior outside hitter Linda Young each finished with six blocks and three Tiger players accumulated double figure totals in digs. Turning those digs into offensive opportunities, Young led Wittenberg with 15 kills, freshman outside hitter Jackie Williams added 14 kills and sophomore outside hitter Jan Kehres chipped in with 13 kills. Kehres led with 19 digs, followed by sophomore outside hitter Emily with 17 and freshman libero Laura Fender with 14.

Dixon was named NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, a fitting conclusion to her career that started out with limited opportunities as a freshman. Young also made the all-tournament team, just two years after watching from the sidelines due to a knee injury suffered early in her sophomore season. Williams rounded out Wittenberg's all-tournament team honorees.