Tiger Women's Volleyball Caps Road Trip With Day 2 Split

ROME, GA - Wittenberg Women's Volleyball wrapped up a productive trip to the Peach State, splitting a pair of matches on Day 2 of the Berry Invitational. Wittenberg defeated Oglethorpe 3-1 to start the day, but the Tigers dropped a 3-1 decision to the host team to wrap up the competition.

The Day 2 split came a day after the Tigers defeated Averett 3-1 to open the competition. Wittenberg is now 5-4 on the season and has a week off from match play until taking on Case Western and Marietta on Saturday, September 21, at Marietta.

Against Oglethorpe, Wittenberg jumped on top with convincing wins in the first two sets of 25-19 and 25-10. After losing the third set 25-19, the Tigers bounced back well to close things out by a 25-17 score in the fourth set.

The Tigers' offense continued to show improvement in the match as six different players finished with at least five kills. Kendall Black (Defiance, OH / Defiance) led the way with 11 kills and a .476 attack percentage, followed by Kait Colahan (Vermilion, OH / Vermilion) with nine kills, Piper Ricketts (Morrow, OH / Little Miami) and Sam Fincham (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge) with eight kills apiece, Alana Bartulovic (Cleveland, OH / Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) with seven kills, and Clare O'Malley (Avon, OH / St. Joseph's Academy) with five kills.

Mary Sulfridge (South Charleston, OH / Southeastern) and Celia Orr (Lexington, KY / Frederick Douglass) split 40 assists almost evenly, and Sulfridge was among three Tigers to contribute more than 10 digs in the match. She finished with 11 digs, trailing only Bryn Wilhelmus (Louisville, KY / Mercy Academy) with 14 and Ally White (Harrison, OH / Harrison) with a match-best 17.

Against Berry, the Tigers found themselves with a steep hill to climb after dropping the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-18. Wittenberg rallied to take the third set 26-24 but couldn't keep the momentum going in a fourth set loss of 25-16.

Fincham and Ricketts paced the offense with 10 kills each, followed by Colahan with seven kills and Black with six. Sulfridge dished out 20 assists and Orr added 13 assists. Defensively, White was outstanding with a team season-high of 25 digs, and Black came up big at the net with five blocks.