Tigers Split Unusual Doubleheader With Oberlin, Otterbein

Ali Hock-James

SPRINGFIELD/WESTERVILLE, Ohio — The Wittenberg Tigers got off to a perfect start to a busy day with a 3-0 sweep of visiting Oberlin, but they were unable to keep the momentum going with a 3-2 loss at Otterbein later in the day.

The third-ranked Tigers are now 14-2 overall and 6-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) with the split, while Oberlin fell to 0-16 overall and 0-6 in the conference. Otterbein, coached by former Wittenberg All-American Monica McDonald, class of 2004, improved to 16-4.

Wittenberg's attack percentage against Oberlin was a stellar .450, despite the fact that many of the Tigers' starters rested. Wittenberg recorded 34 kills against seven errors in just 60 attack attempts in a 25-9, 25-11, 25-9 victory.

Junior Jessica Batanian (Sylvania, Ohio/Notre Dame) led both teams with 10 kills on 14 swings in the match, while freshman Courtney Lauber (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) dished out 27 assists. Six different players recorded at least three kills in the match, including senior Kimmie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) with eight and freshmen Tessa Litman (Magnolia, Ohio/Sandy Valley) and Ali Hock-James (Cincinnati, Ohio/Amelia) with four each. Lauber added five kills of her own.

Also of note were four blocks from sophomore Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./North) and four service aces from junior Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas).

Against Otterbein, the Tiger offense continued to click, pounding out 73 kills against just 16 errors on 184 attack attempts, good for a .310 percentage. Otterbein was credited with the same 184 attack attempts but a much lower .223 success rate. Wittenberg was especially efficient in the first and third sets, committing just one attack error in winning 25-17 and 25-14.

However, Otterbein bounced back from each lopsided defeat, taking the second set 25-14 and the fourth 26-24, even after the Tigers had rallied from four points down late in the set. In the fifth, the Cardinals jumped out to a 6-2 advantage and then put the match away with a clutch four-point run that turned a 9-7 lead into a 13-7 cushion.

Dyer led Wittenberg's offense with 21 kills to go along with 15 digs. Senior Hannah Riley (Minerva, Ohio/Minerva) added 13 kills and 16 digs, while Gilene was tops on defense with 20 digs. Junior Hallie Donathan (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) was high in assists with 27.