Roundup: Three Wins Over Nationally Ranked Teams Mark Good Start
The Wittenberg volleyball team is off to its usual outstanding start in 2005, racing out to a 9-2 overall record with the only losses of the early portion of the campaign coming against the top two ranked teams in the nation, Juniata and Washington University.
The Wittenberg volleyball team is off to its usual outstanding start in 2005, racing out to a 9-2 overall record with the only losses of the early portion of the campaign coming against the top two ranked teams in the nation, Juniata and Washington University.
After beating three other nationally ranked teams already this year, Wittenberg has moved up one place from No. 4 to No. 3 in the national rankings. The Tigers have won their last seven matches, including four straight without dropping a game during last weekends Border Battle, which featured the top teams in Ohio and Michigan.
Most recently, the Tigers opened North Coast Athletic Conference action with a 3-0 win at Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday. Wittenberg has now won 60 straight NCAC regular season matches, dating back to a 1997 loss at Case Western Reserve.
Statistically, the Tigers are more balanced than ever before, led by the sophomore outside hitting duo of Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) and Jan Kehres (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance), both of whom rarely take a break and have become the focal points of a diverse offensive attack. Bell ranks second on the team in kills and digs and first in service aces, while Kehres leads in kills, is second in aces and is third in digs.
All of the details about the Tigers, including strong performances by sophomore outside hitter Lindsey Penrod (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua), sophomore setter Sarah Matesich (Granville, Ohio/Newark Catholic), senior middle hitter Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville), senior outside hitter Linda Young (Minster, Ohio/Minster), freshman libero Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) and sophomore middle hitter Caitlin Augustus (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) are well documented in game stories found on the team's schedule/results page.