Katie Sumner

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Wittenberg volleyball team lost by a 3-0 margin for just the third time in the last three years, faltering under a blistering attack from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh to pick up only their fifth loss of the season. The match was decided by set scores of 25-21, 25-16 and 26-24.

The Tigers hit just .143 as a team, but in return held all but two of the AVCA No. 2 Titans under .176. The two hitters not held under that number hit .407 and .491 to neutralize the hitting of their Titan teammates and gain the advantage. The Tigers, ranked eighth in the AVCA poll, managed just four blocks, down from their season average of 6.9. The Trinity National Invitational match-up with UW Oshkosh represents just the first of a power-packed weekend, with the Tigers slated to face No. 1 Juniata and No. 18 Trinity on Saturday.

Sophomore outside hitter Kimmie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) paced the Tiger offense with 10 kills and two errors in 24 attempts, good for a team-best .333. Sophomore middle hitter Katie Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson) checked in at second with seven kills and three errors on 13 attempts for a .308 percentage. Sumner topped the Tiger' statistics in the block category with two. Sophomore outside hitter Christine Simpson (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) picked up five kills on .283 hitting.

On defense, freshman libero Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas) tallied a team-high 14 digs, and senior setter Erin Slattery (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) assisted on 16 of the team's 34 kills.

Wittenberg returns to the court against No. 1 ranked Juniata Saturday at 10 a.m. and then begin their last match of the regular season against host Trinity later the same day at 5:30 p.m. Following the invitational, the North Coast Athletic Conference focuses its attention on Springfield when the Tigers host the annual NCAC tournament on Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7. The Red & White will meet Allegheny in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at the Pam Evans Smith Arena.

Written by: John Strawn '07