Wittenberg defeats Hiram in NCAC Volleyball Finals
The No. 1 seeded Wittenberg Tigers were outstanding again, putting the finishing touches on yet another perfect North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship with a 3-0 victory over Hiram at the HPER Center in Springfield.
2 p.m. -- #1 Wittenberg (27-6) def. #3 Hiram (27-8)
3-0 (30-16, 30-10, 30-26)
The No. 1 seeded Wittenberg Tigers were outstanding again, putting the finishing touches on yet another perfect North Coast Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championship with a 3-0 victory over Hiram at the HPER Center in Springfield. With the win, the fifth-ranked Tigers advanced to 27-6 overall, claimed their seventh consecutive NCAC tournament title on the heels of the seventh consecutive NCAC regular season title earned last month, and moved on to their eighth straight NCAA Division III Tournament.
The win also was the 72nd straight for Wittenberg in NCAC action, 51 straight in regular season play and 21 consecutive in tournament action. The last loss for Wittenberg against an NCAC opponent came in October 1997 at Case Western Reserve and the last NCAC Tournament defeat came in the 1996 final against Ohio Wesleyan.
Wittenberg got 14 kills from senior Michelle Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame), 22 digs from junior Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson), seven blocks from sophomore Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville)and 45 assists from junior Sarah Yuskewich (Columbus, Ohio/Watterson). The Tigers were never threatened in the championship match, and they completed the season with a perfect 33-0 record in games this season against NCAC foes.
Hiram got five kills from sophomore Shana Toth, 14 digs from freshman Jennifer Hlebovy and three blocks from senior Bobbi Wymer to lead the way statistically. The Terriers put the wraps on one of the best seasons in school history with a 27-8 overall record and a mark of 6-2 in the NCAC, which was good for third place in the regular season standings.