SPRINGFIELD, Ohio—Wittenberg women's volleyball was ranked #1 in this week's AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll. The week three poll saw the Tigers climb from a pre-season ranking of #11, to #3, to #1 after another unblemished weekend. The team has welcomed many members of the top-25 to Pam Evans Smith Arena, and the Tigers have remained unbeaten at 9-0.
Most recently, Wittenberg defeated #22 Ohio Northern, and #18 Washington-St. Louis over the weekend. In all, the Tigers have taken on and defeated #3 Emory, #18 Wash-U, #19 Illinois Wesleyan, #22 Ohio Northern, as well as defeating Johns Hopkins, who is in the "others receiving votes" section of the AVCA poll.
The Tigers 9-0 start has come at the hands of lone senior Maddie Fischer, who leads the Tigers with 119 total kills, averaging 3.61 per-set. Freshman right-side Haley Horner has complimented the Tiger's attack nicely in her first season in Springfield, as the Wheaton, Illinois native has averaged 2.45 kills per-set, while recording 23 blocks on the year.
Karen Wildemann has done a little bit of everything for Wittenberg, as the junior has averaged 9.76 assists per-set, 2.45 digs per-set and 1.39 kills per-set in 2017. Wildemann's best match to date came against #3 Emory, when the junior recorded a triple-double in the Tiger's five-set thriller, recording 11 kills, 41 assists, and 10 digs.
The Tigers are back in action on Saturday, September 23 with matches against Oberlin and Muskingum.
There is a new #1 team in the nation this week @wittenbergvb! @AVCAVolleyball @NCAADIII https://t.co/ldbWbDcqJk #TigerUp pic.twitter.com/g0Rse7NrUe
— Wittenberg Athletics (@WittAthletics) September 19, 2017