Tigers Open NCAC Play With Big Wins Over Ohio Wesleyan And Hiram

Andrea Behling

GAMBIER, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers took no chances on the opening day of 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) action, handily defeating Ohio Wesleyan and Hiram in a pair of matches played at Kenyon College.

Both matches were decided by 3-0 margins, and the Tigers did not allow either opponent to reach 20 points in a set. The wins improved the third-ranked Tigers to 10-1 on the season and 2-0 in the NCAC, heading into two more conference tilts on Sunday, also at Kenyon.

The Tigers opened with a 25-6, 25-4, 25-10 domination of Ohio Wesleyan as Head Coach Paco Labrador emptied his bench. The statistics are predictably spread throughout the lineup, highlighted by seven kills from sophomore Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./North) and an efficient four kills on five attempts from freshman Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Perry).

Against Hiram, which has played Wittenberg in every NCAC Tournament final since 2002, the Tigers rose to the task for set victories of 25-15, 25-18, 25-11. Hiram remains the only NCAC opponent to defeat Wittenberg since 1997, a feat the Terriers pulled off twice in the regular season (2005 and 2010) and once in the NCAC Tournament championship match (2006).

The Tigers responded to the challenge well this time, led by senior Kimmie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) and her 10 kills against 0 errors on 19 attempts. She was supported by Vodopick with four aces, seniors Hannah Riley (Minerva, Ohio/Minerva) and Catherine Farny (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) with seven kills each, and senior Miranda Sagle (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) with four blocks.

Wittenberg gets right back into action on Sunday with matches against Wooster and Allegheny.