SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Through two sets, the 14th-ranked Mount Union volleyball team gave No. 3 Wittenberg all it could handle, but the youthful Tigers sailed away with the third and fourth sets to capture a 3-1 win and kick off Wittenberg's Homecoming celebration in style.
The Tigers improved to 13-3 on the season and added yet another victory over a ranked team to their résumé, bringing the total to six.
Senior setter Hallie Donathan (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) finished the match with 26 assists, best among all players, paired with 18 digs, second only to senior libero Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas) who ended the match with 30.
Freshman right-side hitter Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) tallied 18 kills and three blocks, both team bests, while junior middle Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./Columbus North) was the most efficient attacker at .391 on 10 kills and only one error in 23 attempts. Senior outside hitter Jessica Batanian (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) also chipped in 14 kills and 16 digs.
Senior setter Jordan Mungovan (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) played a key role in totaling 13 assists and four kills with no errors in eight attacks, while freshman middle hitter Haley Mucha (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) finished the match with two total blocks.
The first set featured 15 tie scores, setting the pace for a back and forth evening. The first half of the set saw the exchange usually favor Mount Union, but with Wittenberg trailing 15-14 the Raiders served into the net, tying the score at 15-all and setting the table for Wittenberg to take the next two points. Throughout the remainder, Mount Union would tie the score only for Wittenberg to edge back in front, including back-to-back points to finish it off.
The second set was more of the same through the first 20 points, tied at every turn but 8-8. At 10-9, Mount Union broke away with five straight points to establish either team's first lead of more than two at 14-10. The Tigers nearly closed the gap several times, but the Raiders protected the lead throughout the rest of the set.
The parity subsided in the third set when Wittenberg broke away down the stretch. Leading 13-11 coming out of a timeout, the Tigers scored 12 of the final 16 points en route to a 25-15 win, and the momentum carried straight into the fourth set where Wittenberg scored the first six points.
The rest of the fourth set followed suit as the Tigers cruised to a comfortable 25-17 match-ending victory.
Not a team known for relaxing, even after a Homecoming victory, the Tigers head back out tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 6, to take on NCAA Division II opponents Fairmont State and Urbana in a tri-match hosted by Urbana University beginning at 1 p.m.
John Strawn '07