Wittenberg Women's Volleyball Opens 2015 Season Ranked No. 4 In The Nation
For the 12th straight year, Wittenberg women's volleyball will open the season ranked in the top 10 nationally, this time checking in at No. 4 after balloting by NCAA Division III coaches.
Springfield, Ohio – With 10 returning letterwinners, including five starters, returning to the lineup in 2015, Wittenberg University volleyball once again has the experts expecting a run at a national championship as the Tigers were ranked No. 4 in the preseason American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division III poll.
Wittenberg is coming off a 2014 season in which the Tigers finished with a record of 29-4 overall and a No. 5 national ranking in the final poll. The 2011 NCAA Division III national champion, Wittenberg compiled 1,353 points in the preseason poll to trail Calvin, Emory and defending national champion Hope, in that order.
Wittenberg ranks fifth in NCAA Division III history with 204 appearances in the weekly poll, which debuted in 1992. The Tigers have finished every season ranked in the final national top 25 since 1999, and Wittenberg has ranked in the top 10 in the preseason poll every year since 2004.
“This ranking is a wonderful reflection of the strength of our Great Lakes Region,” said Tiger Head Coach Paco Labrador. “We are honored to be ranked in the top-5, while at the same time, the level of play in NCAA Division III is growing by leaps and bounds, and the parity is as high as I have seen it. We will need to be ready to play at a high level every match and take nothing for granted.”
The Tigers captured their 20th North Coast Athletics Conference (NCAC) regular season and tournament titles in 2014 before losing a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to top-ranked Hope in the NCAA Division III Tournament Round of 16. It was the third time in the last four seasons that Wittenberg lost to the eventual national champion in the Round of 16.
Wittenberg has lost just three matches in NCAC competition since 1997, and just two since Labrador took the reins in 2003. Overall in Labrador’s 11 years on the bench, the Tigers have compiled a phenomenal 377-59 record. He leads active NCAA Division III coaches with an .879 win percentage and ranks second among active coaches in all NCAA divisions.
A promising 2015 season opens Sept. 1 with a road trip to regional rival Otterbein. The Tigers return home over Labor Day weekend to host the annual Wittenberg Courtyard Marriott National Invitational, which includes Juniata, Johns Hopkins and St. Thomas (Minn.). The NCAC regular season opens with a road trip to Hiram on Friday, Sept. 25.
The Tigers will once again be led by right-side hitter Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder), who already is a two-time NCAC Player of the Year, a three-time All-American and a two-time Academic All-American. Labrador has a wealth of options on the attack to go with Seidenstricker, who has piled up more than 1,000 kills in her collegiate career, including senior outside hitter Kristina Fultz (Batavia, Ohio/Glen Este), who joined Seidenstricker on the 2014 Regional All-Tournament Team, junior middle hitter Emily Kahlig (Coldwater, Ohio/Coldwater), a third-team All-American in 2014, and junior Camila Quinones (Sunbury, Ohio/Worthington Christian), a second-team All-NCAC choice a year ago.
Written By: Ryan Maurer