Highs and Lows for #3 Wittenberg at Washington University-St. Louis National Invite

ST. LOUIS, Missouri- #3 Wittenberg women's volleyball took advantage of their out of conference weekend by traveling to Washington University-St. Louis to play some of the nations top competition. Wittenberg squared off on Friday night against Illinois Wesleyan University, a team that recently dropped out of the top 25, #8 University of Texas-Dallas, and host, Wash-U. The Tigers managed to 3-0 IWU on Friday night, but the tables were turned on the Tigers the following two matches as Wittenberg dropped six straight sets to Dallas and Washington combined. Upon conclusion of the tournament, sophomore setter Karen Wildemann was named to the all-tournament team after an impressive weekend on the court. Wittenberg moves to 16-5 overall in 2016, as the Tigers still stand unblemished in conference play.

ILLINOIS WESLEYAN NOTES

• Wittenberg downed IWU in consecutive sets of; 25-19, 25-16, and 25-23  
• In a highly contested match, the Tigers were led offensively by Emily Kahlig, Camila Quiñones, and Maddie Fischer who combined for 31 kills in the match.
• Wildemann surpassed the 30 assist mark for the sixth time in 2016, as the setter produced 34 assists in the match.
• On Defense, the 3-0 clean sweep was made possibly by the dirty work of Madison Manger and Taylor Yontz, who produced 15 and 10 digs each.

FROM THE COACH

• "The scores really fail to tell the story of what a battle we had with IWU. Virtually every point was contested in this match. A true test for both teams tonight, the critical factors were our passers. They were steady and allowed our offense to find a way to score all night," said Coach Labrador.

#8 UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-DALLAS NOTES

• Wittenberg fell to the #8 team in the land in straight sets of; 25-22, 25-18 and 25-23 on Saturday.
• The Tigers slugged a kill-percentage of .259 as a team, but were outdone by the opposition who slugged .277 in the match.
• Wildemann finished with 26 more assists, as Kendall Farmer and Fischer each recorded 10 kills each.
• Wittenberg only produced 11 attack errors in the match, but oddly enough UT-Dallas produced 15.

FROM THE COACH

• "UT-Dallas is a complete team. They played a sharp, intelligent, connected style. Seeing teams like this is why we are here, and we plan to use this experience to our advantage over the upcoming weeks of volleyball," said Coach Labrador.

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY-ST. LOUIS NOTES

• Wittenberg squared off against host Wash-U in the final match of the tournament, as the Tigers lost in consecutive sets; 25-18, 25-22, 26-24.
• Fischer recorded 14 kills at a kill-percentage of .393, as the junior remained a steady force for the Tigers on the attack.
• Wildemann tied her career and season high for assists in the loss with 36, as the sophomore surpassed the 30 assist mark for the seventh time in 2016.
• As a team, the Tigers produced 44 digs on the day, while Wash-U recorded 42.

FROM THE COACH

• "Wash-U played a more physical brand of volleyball than we did tonight. It's another moment where we will grow and adapt and prepare for out next match; with these lessons in mind," said Coach Labrador.

UP NEXT

• Wittenberg returns to action on Friday, October 28 as the Tigers play host to Cincinnati State at 7:00PM.