Tigers Roll Past Wooster On Senior Recognition Night

Catherine Farny

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - It was business as usual for the Wittenberg Tigers on Senior Recognition Night 2009. After Head Coach Paco Labrador introduced a six-player senior class that has never lost a North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) match to a boisterous, appreciative home crowd, the Tigers proceeded to dispatch Wooster 3-0.

The win, by scores of 25-12, 25-22, 25-16, moved the ninth-ranked Tigers to 10-3 overall and, more importantly at this stage in the 2009 season, 6-0 in the NCAC. It was Wittenberg's 57th consecutive NCAC regular season victory, and it dropped the Scots to 11-5 overall and 2-3 in the conference. In beating Wooster for the second time in less than a week, the Tigers also ran their win streak against the Scots to 18 straight, dating back to 1994.

After a slow start in each of the first two sets, the Tigers got things together behind a diversified offensive attack. Three players stood out in particular as sophomore Christine Simpson (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) hit .667 with eight kills in 12 attempts against no errors, junior Amy Cox (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) attacked at a .389 clip with eight kills in 18 attempts against one error, and sophomore Catherine Farny (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) led both teams with 11 kills in 16 attempts. Offset by two errors, Farny's attack percentage was a robust .567.

Senior setters Erin Slattery (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and Kendall Obreza (Gainesville, Fla./Oak Hall) celebrated their second-to-last regular season appearance on the home floor in Pam Evans Smith Arena with a combined 31 assists, while Slattery added another nine digs. Sophomore Kimmie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) led both teams with 13 digs in the match.

Wittenberg, which posted a team attack percentage of .243 compared to .055 for Wooster, has the rest of the weekend off before continuing NCAC play at Allegheny, Hiram and Oberlin next weekend.