Tigers Claim 18th NCAC Tournament Title In 21 Years

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The Wittenberg Tigers maintained their hammerlock on the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament trophy with a 3-0 whitewashing of visiting DePauw.

The sweep earned the third-ranked Tigers their 18th NCAC Tournament crown in the last 21 years and their sixth in a row. It also punched Wittenberg's ticket to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 18th time overall and 17th straight year.

After beating eighth-seeded Oberlin, fifth-seeded Wooster and second-seeded DePauw in a span of 24 hours, the Tigers, who earlier won their seventh consecutive NCAC regular season title, will take a 25-4 overall record into the tournament as the defending national champions. DePauw will sweat out selection day in hopes of an at-large bid on Monday with a 25-6 overall record.

The day started for the Tigers a bit ragged in the sweep of Wooster, but Wittenberg shook off any lingering rust from the outset against DePauw, which lost 3-1 on the same court a month earlier. The Tigers raced out to an 8-2 lead in the first set and never were challenged the rest of the way, claiming the sets by scores of 25-12, 25-12, 25-17.

Wittenberg attacked at a .345 clip as a team, burying DePauw with 48 kills against just nine errors. Leading the charge was junior Andrea Behling (Columbus, Ind./North) with 14 kills, four digs and a whopping six blocks.

Senior Jessica Batanian (Sylvania, Ohio/Notre Dame) added 11 kills to go along with 15 digs, while freshman Melissa Emming (West Chester, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) contributed seven kills and six digs, and freshman Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) added six kills to go along with 13 digs and four blocks. Making the machine run smoothly was the setting tandem of sophomore Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Perry) and senior Hallie Donathan (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) with 19 and 21 assists, respectively.

Rounding out the defense was senior libero Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas), who finished with a match-high 23 digs.

The NCAC All-Tournament Team was announced following the championship match. DePauw was represented by Faith Rowles and Keely McGrath, while Wittenberg placed Seidenstricker, Gilene and Behling on it. Behling was named Tournament Most Valuable Player.