2011 National Champions Return Home
Springfield, OH – On Saturday, January 22 at halftime of the Wittenberg/Hiram men's basketball game; the Wittenberg University Athletic Department will welcome home the 2011 Women's Volleyball National Championship Team for their 10 year reunion. As a team, this group of Tigers put together a 37-3 season, which included an unbeaten 16-0 North Coast Athletic Conference schedule. On their way to securing Wittenberg's eighth team national championship in school history, the Tiger's added an unmatched 17th NCAC crown.
During the historic run, the Tigers put together winning streaks of seven in a row to start the season, suffering their first loss of the season to regional foe Calvin University, in a hard-fought five-set battle, hosting the Great Lakes Regional on their own home floor at Pam Evans Smith Arena. The match would prove pivotal down the stretch for the Tigers, during their postseason run as Wittenberg and Calvin would meet once again. Wittenberg would go on to string seven more consecutive wins together, rounding out September, splitting the day on the first day of October, falling to Otterbein in another five-set bout. With postseason looming, the Tigers won their next 11 matches in a row without dropping a set along the way. During the Red and White win streak, the Tigers picked up victories against NCAA Division II Urbana and Fairmont State University. The Tigers would suffer just one final loss in 2011, setting up for their longest win-streak of the season (12) and setting their course for the Wittenberg history books.
The Tigers closed out the regular-season with four-consecutive road/neutral court wins, dominanting opponents 12-1. The month of November brought the NCAC Tournament and the Tigers returned to their home court, defeating the College of Wooster in the semi-final match, 3-0. The Tigers captured yet another NCAC title, punching their ticked to the NCAA Tournament, with a win over Hiram and with their third sweep in three matches.
The Tigers hit the road to begin the 2011 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Tournament, drawing the Grand Rapids Regional, hosted by none other than Calvin University. The Tigers would first be pitted against Rose-Hulman, making quick work of the Fightin' Engineers in the quarterfinal round, 3-0. The Tigers had a Buckeye State battle against Heidelberg University in the semifinal round, before moving on to face Calvin in the Regional Championship. Wittenberg found their revenge from the eighth match of the season, defeating Calvin 3-1 and moving on to the National Quarterfinal. At this stage, the Tigers traveled to St. Louis, where they would sweep both Cal Lutheran and Eastern University to make their way into the championship match. Wittenberg kept the Tiger faithful on the edge of their seats all match long, edging out Christopher Newport in straight sets 3-0 [25-21, 25-21, 28-26]. The Tigers, who dropped just one set over the course of six 2011 NCAA Division III Tournament matches, appeared in their first national title match after falling three times in the national quarterfinals and three times in the national semifinals since 2002. The championship was the first for a Wittenberg team since 1977, when the men's basketball team raised the trophy.