No. 8 Tigers Drop Hard Fought Battle To Mount Union

Photo Credit | John Coffman
Photo Credit | John Coffman
September 23, 2022
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Springfield, OH – Returning to Pam Evans Smith Arena for their fifth consecutive match, the No. 8 Wittenberg Women's Volleyball team dropped a hard-fought match to the University of Mount Union Raiders, 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-21). In a match that saw 12 lead changes and 30 ties throughout, Wittenberg battled through every point, set-by-set. The intensity started early with five lead changes through the first set, as Wittenberg tallied 16 kills on 43 attacks for a .186 hitting mark. Wittenberg was on the edge of overtaking the Mount Union lead in the second set, as the two sides exchanged points. The match intensified in the second set with seven lead changes and 18 tie scores. The Tiger offense produced 17 kills on 47 total attacks with nine errors.

Tyler Linkhart led the Tiger attack, tallying 15 kills for a team-high .345 hitting-percentage. Kendall Robertson added double-digit kills for the Tiger attack, putting down 11 kills on 22 swings and just four errors. Robertson finished with a .318 hitting percentage, adding five digs. Mack Ricketts tallied 38 of the Tiger's 42 assists on the evening.

Wittenberg goes to 10-3 on the season as they move into North Coast Athletic Conference play, heading into the weekend. The Tigers' have won five of their last six, with this match concluding a five-match win streak. Wittenberg is now 4-1 on their home court of Pam Evans Smith Arena and 4-0 in true road matches. The Tigers sit at 2-2 in neutral court matches.

NATIONAL LEADERS

  • Mack Ricketts ranks fifth nationally in NCAA DIII in assists/set at 10.30. She trails the national leader Lauren Lee (Hope College) by only a fraction of a point, as Lee is averaging 10.79 assists/set.
  • Ricketts has cracked the top 50 in DIII for aces/set, coming in at No. 36 averaging .85 per set. Most recently, Ricketts posted six aces in Wittenberg's 3-0 win over Transylvania.
  • Tyler Linkhart sits at 16th nationally for kills/set with 4.15, smashing 166 kills in 40 sets played.
  • As a team, Wittenberg posts the fourth highest hitting-percentage amongst DIII programs with a .275 mark.
  • Not only are the Tigers efficient but ruthless in their attack, ranking ninth nationally for kills/set at 13.48.

NCAC LEADERS

  • Making her mark in the national standing, Ricketts tops the conference in assists/set (10.30), aces/set (0.85), total assists (412), and total service aces (34).
  • Linkhart sets the conference standard for hitting-percentage at .390, ranking 18th nationally.
  • Kendall Robertson joins her fellow Tiger in the spot for hitting-percentage, smashing a .407 clip with 93 kills on 177 total attempts with just 21 errors.
  • Robertson ranks sixth in the NCAC for blocks/set with .79.
  • Ava Hampton has tallied 142 digs through 37 sets, averaging 3.94 digs/set, ranking fifth amongst her NCAC counterparts.
  • Wittenberg holds the top spot in the NCAC in four statistical categories including, assists/set, hitting-percentage, kills/set, and win-percentage.

Wittenberg will return to action, opening NCAC play, hosting the College of Wooster Fighting Scots on Saturday, September 24 at 1:00 pm.