Volleyball Wins 10th Straight NCAC Regular Season Championship

Emilie Schmid Breaks School Record For Career Digs

Emilie Schmid (right)

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg University volleyball team extended their mastery of the North Coast Athletic Conference last night as the Tigers wrapped up their 10th straight regular season championship. With a convincing 3-0 win at Denison University, the Tigers swept the NCAC regular season with an 8-0 record and earned the No. 1 seed and home court advantage for the 2004 NCAC Tournament.

The Tigers not only swept the NCAC this year, they also did not lose a game (24 total in the eight matches) to an NCAC opponent all season. The Tigers' regular season winning streak stretches back to 1997, with their last loss in conference play coming on Oct. 18, 1997 at Case Western Reserve University. That is a total of 59 straight regular season NCAC match victories - and a stunning 177-9 margin of victory in terms of games - for the Tigers, who are 20-1 overall in 2004 and ranked No. 2 in the country in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. This season was one of the most dominating ever for the Tigers as they held NCAC opponents to an amazingly low average of 17.1 points per game.

The Tigers are led by a core group of five super seniors, four of whom have earned All-America status during their collegiate careers. One of those super seniors is libero Emilie Schmid (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) who broke the school record for career digs during the Denison victory. With a match-high 34 digs against the Big Red, Schmid passed 2004 Wittenberg Athletics Hall of Honor inductee Beth Green, who had 2,185 digs between 1991 and 1994, and she now has 2,200 digs total. With 11 matches left in the regular season and postseason play likely after that, Schmid is assured of breaking the NCAC record of 2,218 career digs, currently held by Joy Kosiewicz (Allegheny '94). She also became just the 14th player in NCAA Division III history to reach the 2,200-dig plateau.

"We had a great fan following at Denison to witness Emilie's milestone," said Tiger Head Coach Paco Labrador, who now has a sparkling 48-8 overall record in two seasons at the helm. "The crowd had the countdown and waved "2,185 Digs" signs when she broke the record.

"She epitomizes what a libero should be - all-out on every play. I'm very proud of her."

The Tigers are back in action on Friday and Saturday as they travel to the Elmhurst Tournament. The Tigers are scheduled to play against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Hope College on Friday. The second day of competition will be determined by the results of the matches on Friday.

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