Roundup: Tigers Sweep Tournament on the Road in California
The Wittenberg volleyball team made a long mid-season trip to California a happy one with four straight wins at the Pioneer Wild West Tournament, hosted by California State-East Bay.
The Wittenberg volleyball team made a long mid-season trip to California a happy one with four straight wins at the Pioneer Wild West Tournament, hosted by California State-East Bay. In the process, the seventh-ranked Tigers improved to 22-4 overall and potentially got their swagger back after dropping just one game in four matches against quality opponents over the weekend.
Sophomore outside hitter Jan Kehres (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance) was simply outstanding in the tournament as the Tigers defeated three 2004 NCAA Division III Tournament qualifying teams. Against Coe College, Kehres pounded 15 kills in 24 attempts with no errors for an astounding attack percentage of .625. She was named to the all-tournament team as a result.
Sophomore outside hitter Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) and senior outside hitter Linda Young (Minster, Ohio/Minster) also had strong performances over the weekend, propelling them to berths on the all-tournament team as well. Also of note was the strong play of freshman outside hitter Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat), who pounded 11 kills in 13 attempts in a win over the host team.
With the first North Coast Athletic Conference loss since 1997 already in the books, the Tigers have some pressing issues still ahead of them as the season winds to a close. A key match at nationally ranked Mount St. Joseph on Friday will go a long way toward NCAA Division III Tournament positioning. Wittenberg is ranked second in the Great Lakes Region currently, one spot ahead of Mount St. Joseph and one behind current Ohio Athletic Conference leader Capital.
A week later, the Tigers host the Wittenberg Fall Classic, which features a strong field, including Baldwin-Wallace, Mount Union, Carthage, Alma, Carnegie Mellon and Wooster.