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SPRINFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers rounded out the 2009 Border Battle with a strong performance against Edison Community College and a hard-fought loss to eighth-ranked Hope College.
The win over Edison does not count toward the Tigers' overall record, so Wittenberg, which won twice on Friday, now stands 4-2 on the still-young 2009 campaign. The Tigers' 3-1 record in the tournament helped the Ohio side to a decisive 11-5 lead in the competition between Ohio and Michigan. In the absence of a fourth Michigan NCAA Division III team willing and able to participate in the tournament, Edison rounded out the Michigan side.
Against Edison, the ninth-ranked team in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division II, Wittenberg won 3-0 by set scores of 25-20, 25-23, 25-19. Sophomore outside hitter Ellen Kortesoja (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) led with 14 kills, while senior outside hitter Katherine Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson) added eight kills. Defensively, the Tigers picked up 16 digs from freshman Kelli Axner (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman).
The match against Hope had several ebbs and flows, the first and the last of which went squarely against the Tigers. The Flying Dutch won the opening set 25-19 and were leading the second set before Wittenberg rallied to win 27-25. The Tigers then held a 16-10 advantage in the third set when the tide inexplicably turned suddenly. Hope reeled off six straight points to square the match, and then the Flying Dutch won a tense 25-23 decision. With momentum on their side, the Flying Dutch simply cruised the fourth and final set 25-11.
Sophomore outside hitter Hannah Riley (Minerva, Ohio/Minerva) led Wittenberg offensively with 13 kills, while senior middle hitter Kate Snead (Westerville, Ohio/South) added seven kills. Freshman libero Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas) paced the defense with 13 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Kimmie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) added nine digs. Sophomore right-side hitter Christine Simpson (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) rounded things out with five blocks.