Wittenberg Alumnae Tune Up Varsity Tigers

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg HPER Center campus came alive as a group of Tiger Volleyball alumnae laced up their shoes and pulled on their kneepads for the 2005 Alumnae Match. Numerous former All-Americans and NCAA record-holders took to the court to relive the fond memories created during their time in the Red & White.

Attendees included:
Rachelle Ragan (Moore) - class of 1994
Beth Schneider (Nowicki) - class of 1998
Kim Stewart (Woodring) - class of 1998
Shannon Journell (Earnest) - class of 1999
Laura Connor (Mayer) - class of 2000
Katie Crane (Schaefer) - class of 2000
Karla Hill (Durren) - class of 2000
Jill Sunderman (Baltimore) - class of 2001
Brittany Baume - class of 2003
Shelli Habegger - class of 2003
Tiffany Keller - class of 2003
Jennifer Emming - class of 2004
Lindsay Nelson - class of 2004
Kristin Fox - class of 2005
Natalie Muir - class of 2005
Emilie Schmid - class of 2005

After a lively Alumnae vs. Alumnae match in the afternoon, the seasoned group of Tiger veterans went toe to toe with the current Wittenberg Volleyball team in the evening. In a highly contested set of four games, the alumnae and the current Tigers played to a 2-2 split, highlighted by some spectacular defensive plays, powerful attacks and timely blocking.

"It's a huge advantage to have an extremely competitive exhibition match one week before we open. The alumnae are all in great shape and played like the talented team that has made the NCAA tournament nine consecutive years," said Head Coach Paco Labrador. "I really enjoyed meeting the alumnae from before my time here, and I hope to have even more play next August."

The fourth-ranked Tigers kick off the 2005 season at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 2 against second ranked Juniata, the defending national champion. Juniata plays Otterbein the next morning in the HPER Center, and then the Cardinals take on Wittenberg at 2 p.m.