No. 16 Tigers Sweep MSJ To Open 2022 Fall Classic

Springfield, OH – The Tiger faithful packed The Pam for the AVCA DIII No. 16 Wittenberg Tigers home debut on Friday evening, hosting the Mount St. Joseph Lions in the opening match of the annual Fall Classic. Coming off a clean sweep on the road of No. 11 Otterbein midweek. Wittenberg came away with their second 3-0 sweep of the week and second sweep of MSJ on the season, 25-20, 25-10, 25-16. Wittenberg welcomed in a healthy slate of regional opponents to round of the weekend of competition. Competing teams featured on the hardwood at Pam Evans Smith Arena over the weekend included the Asbury Eagles, the Geneva Golden Tornadoes and the Mount St. Joseph Lions. This was the second time Wittenberg has squared-off against the Lions through the early going of the 2022 season. In the first meeting, Wittenberg defeated MSJ 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 27-25).

• Katie Hiestand put down a team-high 11 kills on 22 swings for a .455 hitting-percentage. Hiestand added 11 digs and five service aces down the stretch.
• Kendall Robertson posted a .455 clip with six kills on 11 attempts and one error.
• Tyler Linkhart tallied her 9^th double-digit kill match of the season with 10 kills, posting a .280 hitting-percentage.
• Mack Ricketts logged 23 of Wittenberg's 31 assists.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• As a team, Wittenberg went into Friday's match ranked 7^th nationally in hitting-percentage. Hitting .280 through 27 sets with 373 kills on 936 total attacks and just 111 errors.
• Amongst the teams ranked in the top 10 for hitting-percentage, Wittenberg has logged the most sets played with the most kills (373).
• Mack Ricketts as her finger on the pulse of the Tiger offense, leading both the NCAC and DIII at 10.93 assists/set. Through the early going, Ricketts has dished out 295 of Wittenberg's 347 assists.
• Ricketts holds the top spot in the NCAC, averaging .89 aces/set. Ricketts cracks the top 50 in NCAA DIII, coming in at No. 41 with 24 aces in 27 sets. Most recently, Ricketts put down five aces in the Wittenberg sweep over No. 11 Otterbein.
• Established as one of the top hitters in the NCAC, Tyler Linkhart currently ranks 29^th in NCAA DIII hitting-percentage at .391. Linkhart has put down 109 kills with just 18 errors on 233 swings through 27 sets.

Wittenberg will return to action on Saturday for the final two matches of the 2022 Fall Classic. The Tigers' start the day at 11:00 am taking on the Asbury University. The Tigers' return to action at 2:00 pm for the final match of the weekend taking on Geneva College.