Tigers Knocked Out At NCAC Semifinal

Springfield, OH – The Wittenberg women's volleyball team took on the Tigers from DePauw University in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal match on Saturday afternoon. The Red and White suffered a tough 3-0 [21-25, 23-25, 21-25, 21-25] loss against DePauw. Wittenberg collected a .176 hitting percentage on the day, putting down 41 kills on 125 total attack attempts, adding seven blocks. Katie Hiestand led the Wittenberg attack with 16 kills on 37 total attack attempts, posting a .324 kill percentage. Hiestand added 

Match Breakdown

The two sides battled it out, trading point through the early going, Wittenberg had to overcome a 9-5 DePauw advantage, forcing a Red and White timeout. The Tiger's didn't back down from the challenge forcing a Depauw timeout, during a rally of their own and cutting the advantage down to 11-9. A Taylor Yontz service rally set the Wittenberg offense into motion, including an ace and a kill from Aubrey Cox, bringing the match back to even for the Red and White at 14-14. A service rally by Hiestand brought Wittenberg to within one at 19-18. The Red and White kept the pressure on DePauw, falling short in the first set 25-21. The second set picked up right were the first set ended, as the two sides continued to trade points. Wittenberg overcame an early DePauw advantage, taking a late 18-15 advantage. DePauw would regain the lead to secure a 25-23 second set win. Wittenberg continued to battle it out down the stretch with DePauw, as Wittenberg put together a .333 hitting percentage in the final set, putting down 15 kills on 36 attack attempts with just three errors. DePauw posted a .432 kill marker in the final set, tallying 18 kills on 37 swings with two errors. Paige Kucinic tallied eight kills on 21 swings with just one error for the Red and White for a .333 kill percentage on the day to go along with her two blocks. Gabi Hancock posted six kills on 10 swings for Wittenberg, adding two blocks upfront. Yontz finished the day with 19 digs for the Red and White. Ashley Brooks tallied 19 assists for Wittenberg, added two kills on three attack attempts.