Tigers Advance To Fifth Straight Regional Championship Match

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - The 2014 Wittenberg volleyball season started Labor Day weekend with a home match against Hope College. After beating Mount Union in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament Springfield Regional, the Tigers will make their final appearance of the campaign in Pam Evans Smith Arena against the same opponent, the second-ranked Flying Dutch.

This time, however, Wittenberg is angling for a much different result. Hope beat the Tigers 3-1 on that opening night.

Wittenberg reached the championship match of the Springfield Regional with a 3-1 decision against the 12th-ranked Purple Raiders, the champions of the Ohio Athletic Conference. The Tigers beat Mount Union by the same score a month earlier in a match played on the Purple Raiders' home floor.

The Tigers dominated the first two sets, buoyed by a boisterous home crowd. Wittenberg broke open a close opening set with an 9-2 run, including five straight service points by junior Callan Swaim (Mooresville, Ind./Mooresville). Another serving run by junior Kristina Fultz (Batavia, Ohio/Glen Este) pushed the lead out further before sophomore Camila Quiñones (Sunbury, Ohio/Worthington Christian) closed things with a kill.

Wittenberg held a 10-8 advantage in the second set before a nine-point run put the Tigers in firm control. This time it was senior Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Perry) doing the serving honors.

Mount Union bounced back in the third set, pounding 15 kills on 31 attempts without making an error en route to a 25-12 victory. The momentum carried over to the third set before Head Coach Paco Labrador called a timeout with his Tigers trailing 10-6. Whatever was said in that huddle must have been profound because Wittenberg scored the next five points, including four on Swaim's serve. That was the start of a 14-4 burst that put Wittenberg back in the driver's seat en route to a 25-18 decision.

The Tigers were paced offensively by sophomore Kendall Farmer (Gurnee, Ill./Warren Township) with 11 kills, and she added five blocks to the defensive effort. Junior Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) added 10 kills, 17 digs and three blocks, junior Bryanna Jay (Girard, Ohio/Girard) contributed eight kills and four blocks, and Fultz finished with seven kills and a match-best 23 digs. Also of note, Vodopich led the Tigers in assists with 20 and service aces with five.

The win pushed fourth-ranked Wittenberg's record to 29-3. The regional championship berth is the Tigers' fifth in a row - Wittenberg has squared off with Calvin in this round each of the last four years. Hope advanced to the match with a thrilling 3-2 come-from-behind win over 10th-ranked Juniata in the day's other second round match at Wittenberg.

Written By: Ryan Maurer