Tigers Take NCAC Opener From Hiram

Springfield, OH – The Wittenberg University women's volleyball team opened up North Coast Athletic Conference action on Friday evening, hosting the Terriers of Hiram College. Coming off an All-Classic performance at the Tigers' Fall Classic, Hannah Schartz and Tyler Linkhart continued their offensive dominance into the NCAC opener with 13 kills apiece. Schartz added 20 digs, along with an ace and two blocks to her stat line. Linkhart posted a team-high .357 hitting marker,  with 13 kills on 28 attacks and just three errors. Katie Hiestand added 11 kills for the Wittenberg attack, adding 10 digs and two aces. Mack Ricketts and Ashley Brooks fueled the Tiger offense, Ricketts providing 29 and Brooks adding 21.

Match Breakdown

The Tigers took the first set from the Terriers by way of a 25-16 decision. Wittenberg recorded a .103 hitting percentage to open the match, holding the Terriers to -.026 forcing eight Terrier errors and allowing just seven kills to fall. After a back-and-forth battle through the early going of the second set, the Terriers stretched their advantage to bring things back the sets back to even, with a 25-19 second set win. Wittenberg found their stride in the third setting, putting together a .375 offensive attack with 17 kills on 40 attacks and just two errors. The Tigers continued to slow the Terrier attack in the fourth set, holding Hiram to single-digit kills for the second consecutive set and forcing three errors.

UP NEXT

The Tigers will return to action from Pam Evans Smith Arena on Saturday afternoon, hosting the Allegheny College Gators in a 1:00 PM NCAC matchup.