Springfield, OH – The No. 9 Wittenberg women's volleyball team improved their North Coast Athletic Conference win-streak to 5-0, taking down the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan, 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-16). The Tiger defense rose to the occasion for the opening of two pivotal NCAC matches on the week. Wittenberg held Ohio Wesleyan to hitting under .100 on the evening, sending the Bishops home with a .079 hitting-percentage. The Tiger attack found their groove in the second set, putting together their highest attacking-percentage on the night at .308. Wittenberg put down 37 kills on 105 total attacks and just nine errors for a .267 hitting-percentage as a team on the night.
Leading the Tiger attack, Katie Hiestand and Tyler Linkhart logging double-digit kills with 10 apiece. Hiestand tallied her 10th double-double of the season, adding 111 digs to her 10 kills. Linkhart posted a team-high attacking-percentage, hitting .429, with just one error on 21 swings. Mack Ricketts facilitated the Wittenberg offense, tallying 29 of the Tigers' 34 assists on the night. Ava Hampton tallied 11 digs along with a team-high 18 receptions from the libero position. Hampton was a weapon from the service line, putting down three consecutive aces in the first set, finishing the night with five.
With this win, Wittenberg improves to 17-3 on the season, remaining unbeaten in NCAC play. The Tigers hold an 8-1 record on their home court of Pam Evans Smith Arena. So far this season, 6 of the 8 Tiger wins at home have come in straight set sweeps. Wittenberg will host Denison this Saturday, October 22, for their final regular-season home match. First-serve is set for 3:30 pm.
NCAC LEADERS
- Wittenberg leads the conference in kills, assists, and hitting-percentage.
- Ricketts leads the conference in assists, assists per set, and service aces.
- Kendall Robertson is No. 1 in the conference for hitting-percentage, Linkhart sits at No. 3 and Hiestand also in the top ten, sitting at No. 8.
- Linkhart is No. 1 in kills/set, Hiestand is No. 3, and Robertson comes in at No. 7.
- Linkhart, Hiestand, and Robertson also all stand in the top ten for total kills (256, 221, and 162)
NCAA LEADERS
- Wittenberg as a team comes in No. 3 in all of DIII for hitting-percentage with .267%.
- Ricketts sits at No. 5 in assists/set with 10.56.
- Wittenberg as a whole is at No. 8 in all of DIII for assists/set.
- The team sits at No. 4 in all of DIII for kills/set with 13.89.