Tigers Open With 3-1 Loss To Nationally Ranked St. John Fisher

Springfield, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers went toe-to-toe with one of the nation's top-ranked teams before dropping a 3-1 decision to visiting St. John Fisher in the season opener for both teams.

The match was the first match of what was intended to be a four-team season-opening event. However, the snowstorm bringing blizzard conditions to parts of the Midwest forced Wisconsin Lutheran to stay home, leading to some schedule changes. Day 2 of the event now features just two matches instead of four as both the Tigers and Cardinals will take on Penn State-Altoona.

A big key to the Cardinals' success was a balanced offensive attack. Five different players finished with between seven and 11 kills in the match, allowing St. John Fisher to keep the Tigers off-balance.

After the Cardinals, ranked 11th in the preseason poll published by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on January 9, took the first set 25-21, Wittenberg bounced back thanks in large part to better defense and blocking to win the second set 25-22. The momentum didn't carry over, however, as St. John Fisher jumped out to a big lead in the third set en route to a 25-20 win. In the fourth set, Wittenberg stayed in touch throughout but eventually dropped a 25-21 decision.

Individually, Michael Yurk (Indianapolis, Indiana/Bishop Chatard) led the Tigers with 17 kills in the match. Eli Halverson (Hamilton, Ohio/Badin) was next with nine kills, despite playing on a injured ankle and sitting out the fourth set. Trajan Kress (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) and Reese Monnin (Xenia, Ohio/Carroll) added five kills each, and Sam Richardson (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) dished out 31 assists.

Defensively, Dominic Smith (Claymont, Ohio/Northmont) led with eight digs, followed by Tom Supan (Medina, Ohio/Medina) with seven. Monnin led in blocks with three, followed by Richardson and Halverson with two apiece.