Tiger Drop Tough Five Set Battle To No. 2 Emory

Atlanta, GA – The Wittenberg women's volleyball team wrapped up their 2019 regular season campaign, taking on AVCA No. 2 and 2018 NCAA DIII National Champions Emory College from the Emory College Invitational. The Tiger's dropped a tough five-set battle to Emory 3-2 [14-25, 20-25, 25-18, 25-21, 15-12]. Wittenberg logged a .246 kill percentage as a team, putting down 62 kills on 171 attack attempts. The Red and White were led by Paige Kucinic posting 15 kills on the day. Katie Hiestand and Aubrey Cox each added double-digit kills to the Tiger attack, finishing with 13 and 11 apiece.

Match Breakdown

Wittenberg took the first set from Emory 25-14, collecting a .273 hitting percentage, putting down 12 kills on 33 total attack attempts with just three kills. Wittenberg jumped out to earn early 7-4 lead over the Eagles, extending their advantage out to 15-6 during a Lexie Weithman service rally. The Red and White continued the hard-hitting down the stretch, doubling up their lead on Emory at 24-12 with a kill from Sidney Reeder coming off the Ashley Brooks assist. Wittenberg continued the momentum into the second set, taking an early 14-7 advantage. The Tiger's kept the pressure on Emory, maintaining a 20-17 before going on to close out the set with a 25-20 win. Wittenberg was unable to keep the momentum going into the third set, as Emory took the early advantage without relinquishing their lead until the final point landed. The Tiger's bounced back in the fourth set, going point for point with the Eagles and Wittenberg taking a 12-10 lead off the kill by Hiestand. The two sides continued the battle down the stretch before Emory was able to overtake the 21-20 lead to earn the 25-21 win. Wittenberg and Emory traded points in the fifth set of the day, as the Tiger's were unable to separate themselves from the Eagles to get the final set win.

UP NEXT

Wittenberg will return to action at Pam Evans Smith Arena on Saturday, Nov. 9 to host the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.