GREENCASTLE, IN – In need of a win to make up ground in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season title chase, Wittenberg Women's Volleyball put up a fight against second-place DePauw but fell short, losing in straight sets, 3-0, on the road at Neal Fieldhouse on Wednesday, Oct. 23.

The match was the first of four straight NCAC matches for the Tigers that will determine seeding in the conference tournament, which Wittenberg won last year in dramatic fashion at DePauw. Over the next 10 days, the Tigers are set to take on Hiram, last-place Wooster, and first-place Denison.

All three sets were close, with DePauw topping Wittenberg by scores of 25-22, 25-20, and 25-23. It was the second straight loss for Wittenberg, which dropped to 11-8 overall and 2-2 in the NCAC and into a fourth-place tie with Hiram. DePauw improved to 14-8 overall and 3-1 in the NCAC, good for a second-place tie with Ohio Wesleyan.

Sam Fincham (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge) and Kait Colahan (Vermilion, OH / Vermilion) each tallied nine kills and nine points for Wittenberg, while Clare O'Malley (Avon, OH / St. Joseph's Academy) added eight kills and 8.5 points. Mary Sulfridge (South Charleston, OH / Southeastern) led the team in assists with 25 and Ally White (Harrison, OH / Harrison) led the team in digs with 26.

DePauw was led by Olivia Karwin's 11 kills, 11 points, and 16 assists. Kendall Herrick had a team-high 18 assists and 12 digs. Grace Myers led the team in digs with 25 and service aces with five.

Stats in this one were extremely close again as Wittenberg posted 37 kills, 133 total attacks, 32 assists, four block assists, 68 digs, and three service aces. DePauw recorded 38 kills, 133 total attacks, 38 assists, eight block assists, 67 digs, and nine service aces.

In the series against DePauw that dates back to 1995, Wittenberg leads 22-5.