#3 Wittenberg Blows Past Clarkson

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio-- #3 Wittenberg improved to 7-0 with a 3-0 clean-sweep of the Clarkson Golden Knights on Friday night. Friday's Fall Classic kicked off with a bang, as Pam Evans Smith Arena was packed to the brim with many Tiger fans decked out in not red, but green. The women's volleyball program packed The Pam in green in support of junior Megan Flaherty's father, who is currently battling lymphoma. In true Tiger fashion, friends of the program and the community came out to support the Flaherty's, who have been a mainstay in the bleachers for the Tigers over the last three seasons. On the court, Wittenberg dominated, making quick work of the Golden Knights.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Wittenberg sent the Golden Knights packing to the tune of 25-20, 25-16 and 25-20. The Tigers lead by as many as eight in the first set, nine in the second set and seven in the third set. Clarkson did not lead at any point until the third set, when the Golden Knights took a 1-0 lead on the opening serve. Clarkson would never lead again, as the Golden Knights had no answer for the Tigers attack. As a team, the Tigers slugged .245 while holding Clarkson to a clip of .140.

WHO STOOD OUT: Maddie Fischer paced the Tigers with 15 kills, while freshman Haley Horner came on strong with 13 kills to supplement Fischer's dominant day. Fischer recorded a kill-percentage of .227 in the match while Horner slugged an astonishing .379. Along with Fischer's double-digit kills, the lone senior on the Tiger's squad recorded a career high 23 digs in the match. Matching Fischer's 23 digs was sophomore Taylor Yontz, who was all over the court for the Tigers.

WHAT IT MEANS: The Tigers move to 2-0 all time against the Golden Knights and 7-0 on the young year. The Tiger are off to an unblemished start, which includes seven straight victories to open the season for the first time since 2011, a campaign that saw the Tigers finish 37-3 and win the NCAA Division III National Championship.

NOTABLE: Friday night, the Tigers were joined by Dr. Amy McGuffey of the education department as their honorary bench coach. Amy is a Wittenberg alum, and considers herself fortunate to have the opportunity to share her passion for education with her students. The Tigers will be joined by their recent Hall of Honor Inductee, Beth Nowicki Schneider, on the bench tomorrow at noon, when the Tiger take on Wash-U.

UP NEXT: Wittenberg returns to action tomorrow at noon against Wash-U, and again 4:00PM against Ohio Northern.