Kate Snead
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers rode a wave of momentum provided by a school-record 1,400 fans who packed the HPER Center to witness a pair of victories Friday. The first, a 3-0 defeat of Denison, put a cap on the second straight unbeaten North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season. The second, a 3-1 win over second-ranked Juniata, put an exclamation point on the first unbeaten regular season in school or NCAC history.
The wins improved top-ranked Wittenberg to 32-0 overall and 14-0 in the NCAC. The Tigers, winners of 43 consecutive regular season matches dating back to a 2006 loss to Capital, now have a week off before hosting the NCAC Tournament Nov. 2-3.
Things started quietly enough as the Tigers pounced on another NCAC foe, defeating Denison 30-19, 30-22, 30-24 to round out the campaign with a 42-1 record in conference games. Senior outside hitter Jan Kehres (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance) led the offense with 13 kills and four aces, while the defense was keyed by junior libero Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) with 13 digs. Senior outside hitter Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) added 10 digs and three aces, while senior middle hitter Caitlin Augustus (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) chipped in with three blocks.
After Juniata defeated sixth-ranked Carthage, 3-0, and Carnegie Mellon topped the University of Dallas, 3-0, to start off the Wittenberg Fall Classic, the south stands in the HPER Center slowly filled to near capacity, primarily with Red & White-clad Tiger fans. They were vocal from the outset, and the home team on the court fed off that emotion for two quick victories, 30-23 and 30-20. The Tigers jumped in front quickly in each game and then slowly pulled away.
In Game 3, the mometum shifted after the Tigers took a 23-19 lead. Juniata, the 2006 national champion and victor over the Tigers in the NCAA Division III Tournament semifinals each of the last two years, reeled off five straight points to take a slim lead, which they held onto through game's end, a 30-28 victory.
With the two teams nearly even in Game 4, Wittenberg found a spark from an unlikely source. Sophomore middle hitter Kate Snead (Westerville, Ohio/South)came off the bench to contribute three blocks and five kills as the Tigers outscored Juniata 19-6 to take a convincing 30-17 Game 4 win and the match.
The difference in the match was the blocking ability of the Tigers, who posted a whopping 17 team blocks. Augustus led with seven, more than the entire Juniata team could manage.
Offensively, the Tigers kept a terrific defensive squad off balance by using multiple options. By match's end, Bell, Kehres, Augustus and junior outside hitter Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat) finished with 11 kills apiece. Many attack attempts that got through the Tigers' blocks were dug out, led by Bell with 33 and Fender with 28.
Rounding out the Fall Classic scores, Carthage bounced back from the loss to Juniata to defeat Dallas, 3-0.