Tigers Finish Off 4-0 Weekend Against Wooster, Alderson-Broaddus

Tessa Litman

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg volleyball team swept both ends of a Saturday doubleheader for wins over tough North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) opponent Wooster and NCAA Division II scholarship program Alderson-Broaddus, improving to 19-2 and 8-0 in the NCAC.

In the opening match, the Fighting Scots initially provided some stiff resistance to keep it close in a 25-18 first set decision, but the Tigers got rolling and won the remaining sets by scores of 25-12 and 25-9. Wittenberg, ranked fourth nationally in the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, remains alone in first place in the NCAC.

The Tiger attack featured senior hitter Kimmie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) at center stage with 19 kills, two short of her season high of 21 in five sets against Otterbein on Oct. 1. Dyer paced an offense that put up 39 total kills on a team attack percentage of .326.

Dyer finished the match with an impressive hitting percentage of .548, committing just two errors in 31 attempts. Dyer now owns the top four individual kill totals on the season for the Tigers.

Senior middle Miranda Sagle (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) posted three block assists to lead a Tiger blocking unit that repelled five Wooster attacks. Junior setter Hallie Donathan (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) registered 20 set assists in the match, while senior Hannah Riley (Minerva, Ohio/Minerva) anchored the passing game with 17 digs.

Wooster and Alderson-Broaddus then faced off in neutral site contest, followed by a 25-22, 25-23, 25-15 win for Wittenberg against Alderson-Broaddus in the day's concluding match.

The Tiger rotation looked a bit different against Alderson-Broaddus, relying mainly on the roster's younger players. Leading that crew was freshman setter Courtney Lauber (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville), who racked up a team and individual season-high 35 assists.

Sophomore Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./North) posted seven kills and two block assists, while freshman Ali Hock-James (Cincinnati, Ohio/Amelia) turned in six kills and one solo block. Freshman Megan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Perry) tied a personal-season high with her six kills and added two block assists, while freshman Tessa Litman (Mangolia, Ohio/Sandy Valley) registered five kills.

Junior Jessica Batanian (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame) led the Tigers in kills with 14 and in digs with 11.

The Tigers continue their NCAC slate on the road on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m.

John Strawn '07

Wooster Video Re-Cap:

Alderson-Broaddus Video Re-Cap: