Tigers Defeat Another Ranked Opponent at Home

Springfield, OH -After defeating the former #1 team in the nation in Juniata earlier this season, the Tigers defeated #20 Otterbein in a five-set thriller where they avioided a comeback. The Tigers improved their record to 12-7 in dramatic fashion, winning 3-2 by set scores of 25-22, 27-25, 23-25, 24-26, 16-14.

In each set, the scoring was back and forth throughout with the largest lead being the Tigers' 8-1 lead to start both the third and fourth sets, highlighted by an eight-point scoring streak in the fourth set behind the serves of Ally White (Harrison, OH / Harrison). In the first set, Kait Colahan (Vermilion, OH / Vermilion) and Kaili Worcester (Powell, OH / Olentangy Liberty) combined for 10 of Wittenberg's 16 first-set kills. In the second set, Clare O'Malley (Avon, OH / St. Joseph's Academy) led the team with five kills, two of which came over the last three pooints of the set to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead. Over the thrid and fourth sets, both teams struggled to attack well, with the Tigers hitting 0.135 and 0.125 while the Cardinals hit 0.167 and 0.133, respectively. After Otterbein was able to fight back and win the next two, the Tigers found themselves in a 10-8 hole before fighting back to 12-10. Otterbein didn't back down and made the score 14-14 before Colahan closed the match in Wittenberg's favor with back-to-back powerful kills.

Team Leaders

• Worcester led the team in kills with 16 and Colahan notched 15, while O'Malley also reach double-digits with 10.
• Mary Sulfridge (South Charleston, OH / Southeastern) had another phenominal match with 52 assists, good for fourth in a match all-time.
• White led the team in digs, as usual, with 23, but Piper Ricketts (Morrow, OH / Little Miami), Ava Golem (Kirtland, OH / Kirtland),Sulfridge and Worcester each finished in double-digits as well.
• White also had two service aces on the night and Ricketts added one for the team's third.
• Colahan took the team lead in blocks with four total and Madelyn Luers (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) and O'Malley added another three apiece.

Team Comparison

• The Tigers finished the match with 65 kills on a 0.192 hitting percentage, logged 58 assists, notched three service aces, collected 87 digs, and totaled 13 blocks on the night.
• The Cardinals ended with 66 kills, with a 0.162 hitting prcentage, logged 50 assists, also added three service aces, collected 82 digs, and finished with nine blocks as a team.

Next Up

The Tigers will take on the John Carroll University Blue Streaks at home at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 21, in a battle for first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference standings.

Written By: Grant Martin