Tigers Enjoy Near Perfect Afternoon With Pair Of Sweeps

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers stretched their modest winning streak to five with a pair of 3-0 sweeps over Wooster and Heidelberg in a tri-match at Pam Evans Smith Arena.

After a 2-5 start to the season - with all five losses coming against nationally ranked opponents - the Tigers have bounced back for five straight home wins, including three in a span of 24 hours. After beating Oberlin in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) opener on Friday, Wittenberg rolled past Wooster and Heidelberg by matching 3-0 scores.

Against Wooster, the Tigers jumped out to a big early lead to secure a 25-8 win in the first set. The Scots battled back in both the second and third sets before giving up late leads as Wittenberg won 25-21 and 25-22.

The offense was paced by freshman Emily Kahlig (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater), who pounded 10 kills and finished with a .625 attack percentage. She had plenty of help around the net, with senior Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./North) contributing nine kills and sophomore Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) adding eight kills. Junior Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Perry) added six kills to go along with 25 assists.

Also of note, sophomore Katie Zito (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) finished with four assists, three service aces and a match-best 14 digs. Vodopich and freshman Libbi Giuliano (Cincinnati, Ohio/McAuley) added 10 digs apiece.

After Heidelberg defeated Wooster, the Tigers and Student Princes wrapped up the tri-match with a sweep by Wittenberg by scores of 25-23, 25-22, 25-20.

Seidenstricker topped both teams with 17 kills and a tremendous attack percentage of .455 on 33 attempts. Behling wasn't far behind, finishing with 14 kills and a .444 attack percentage.

Vodopich was on her game as well, dishing out a career-best 43 assists while pounding six kills on a .462 attack percentage. Zito paced the defense with 22 digs, while Seidenstricker added 10 digs.