Tiger Women’s Volleyball Deals Denison Its First NCAC Loss

SPRINGFIELD, OH – Wittenberg's Women's Volleyball dealt visiting Denison its first North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) loss of the 2024 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 2, at Pam Evans Smith Arena. 

The Tigers, who notched their third straight win, put together perhaps their most complete performance of the season in a 3-1 victory that featured set scores of 25-27, 25-20, 26-24, and 25-19. The loss dropped Denison, which had already clinched its first-ever NCAC regular season title, to 6-1 in the NCAC and 12-11 overall, while Wittenberg improved to 5-2 in conference and 14-8 overall. It was also the 60th win for Wittenberg in the all-time series between the two programs against just seven wins for Denison.

Both teams have qualified for the six-team NCAC Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal play on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Denison is the top seed by virtue of its regular season title and has earned the right to host the tournament semifinals and finals on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 at Livingston Gymnasium. Wittenberg, which finished in a three-way tie for second place with DePauw and Ohio Wesleyan, is the No. 4 seed in the tournament and will take on Hiram in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, in Pam Evans Smith Arena.

The Tigers led late in the first set 20-13 and looked like they would pull out the win. However, Denison went on a 14-5 run to draw first blood. Wittenberg showed some significant mental toughness to overcome the first set loss, however, by jumping out to a 10-4 lead in the second set and never looking back.

In set three, the teams traded points throughout and Denison would even take the lead at 15-13, but a few service errors by the Big Red allowed the Tigers to go on a 6-4 run to tie things at 19-all. Denison attack errors would then push Witt over the top for a 26-24 victory. In set four, things were tied at 10-all before Witt would gain the momentum it needed to go on a 15-9 run for the match win.

Alana Bartulovic (Cleveland, OH / Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) had a big day for the Tigers with 22 kills and 22 points. Clare O'Malley (Avon, OH / St. Joseph's Academy) also made double digits in the kill department with 12 kills and 15 points overall. Mary Sulfridge (South Charleston, OH / Southeastern) led the team in assists with 47 assists. She also had 10 digs and a service ace. Ally White (Harrison, OH / Harrison) led the team in digs with 30 - just days after topping 1,000 digs for her career - and she added two service aces. Cam Colahan (Vermilion, OH / Vermilion), Ava Golem (Kirtland, OH / Kirtland), and Piper Ricketts (Morrow, OH / Little Miami) also got in on the dig action with 17, 15, and 12, respectively. Kendall Black (Defiance, OH / Defiance) led the team in blocks with five. Kaili Worcester (Powell, OH / Olentangy Liberty) also had a good night for the Tigers with 10 kills and six digs.

Claire Hamilton led Denison with 16 kills. Maeve Perry had a team-high four blocks. Alice Kempf tallied 44 assists and 13 digs, while Sadie Habeeb led the team in digs with 25.

Team totals for Wittenberg included 59 kills, 199 total attacks, 57 assists, seven service aces, 14 blocks, and 105 digs. Denison registered 48 kills, 195 total attacks, 47 assists, four service aces, six blocks, and 95 digs.