Tiger Women's Volleyball Sees NCAA Tournament Run End in Second Round

PITTSBURGH, PA - Wittenberg Women's Volleyball saw its 12-match winning streak snapped in a 3-1 loss to fourth-ranked Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

The loss came 24 hours after the Tigers won their first national tournament match since 2021 by a 3-1 score over Ohio Athletic Conference champion Otterbein. After winning the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) regular season and tournament titles, Wittenberg concluded the 2025 campaign with an overall record of 21-8.

Wisconsin Eau-Claire, the No. 1 seed in the regional bracket hosted by Carnegie Mellon, improved to 29-4 on the season and advanced to the regional championship match on Saturday, Nov. 22. The Blugolds, the 2021 NCAA Division III Tournament champion, will take on the winner of a match between Hope and Carnegie Mellon.

The difference in the match was Wisconsin-Eau Claire's relentless offensive attack. The Blugolds were efficient throughout the four sets, but especially over the final two sets en route to a 25-23, 15-25, 25-14, 25-18 victory.

"We knew this was going to be a really big battle, and I'm really proud of how our team showed up," said Wittenberg Head Coach Evelyn Miller. "We have been working toward this level of play for about four years now, so I'm really proud of how our seniors have led the way. We don't see those kind of swings in the regular season that often, so for our team to respond the way they did with the defensive effort that we did, I could not be more proud of our team.

"I think our team realized in that moment that we're capable of playing at that level and that we can take those big swings, and we can make those teams feel pressure."

The Blugolds jumped out to a six-point lead midway through the first set before the Tigers started clicking offensively. Wittenberg closed the gap to 23-22 thanks to a three-point run on the serve of senior libero Ally White (Harrison, OH / Harrison) before Wisconsin-Eau Claire rallied for the final two points.

While the rally came up short to end the first set, the momentum carried over into a tremendous second set win for the Tigers. After attacking at a solid .303 clip in the first set, Wittenberg jumped on top early in the second frame and pulled away, thanks in part to an offense that piled up 17 kills on 31 swings against just four errors.

"I think we reached our peak in that second set, and that's something we've been working toward all season long," said Miller, who was named NCAC Coach of the Year for a third time in her career.

From there, Wisconsin-Eau Claire continued to attack at a high percentage while mostly holding the Tigers' potent offense in check. The Blugolds jumped on top with the first three points of both the third and fourth sets, and the champions of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference dominated the late stages of each set as well.

Individually, four Tigers finished with nine kills or more in the match. Senior outside hitter Kaili Worcester (Powell, OH / Olentangy Liberty) led the way with 15 kills, followed by junior outside hitter Kait Colahan (Vermilion, OH / Vermilion) with 13 kills, and nine kills apiece from senior outside hitter Alana Bartulovic (Cleveland, OH / Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) and sophomore middle blocker Clare O'Malley (Avon, OH / St. Joseph's Academy). Sophomore setter Mary Sulfridge (South Charleston, OH / Southeastern) was stellar again, dishing out 45 assists.

Defensively, senior outside hitter Piper Ricketts (Morrow, OH / Little Miami) led the way with 22 digs, followed by White with 14. Ricketts was also excellent in the serve game with three aces.

News and Notes:

• Evelyn Miller ends the 2025 season with a career coaching record of 144-63, all at Wittenberg since taking the reins in 2018. After leading the Tigers to a 7-0 record against NCAC competition this year, Miller's NCAC record is 40-5 during that same time span.
• Wittenberg made a triumphant return to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2025 after missing the national competition a year ago for the first time since 1995. The Tigers' all-time NCAA Division III Tournament record stands at 50-28.
• The Tigers entered postseason play this year on a three-match NCAA Tournament losing streak, dating back to a 3-0 first-round victory over St. John Fisher in 2021. Since then, Wittenberg had lost matches to Calvin (2021), Hope (2022), and Trinity (Texas) (2023).

Written By: Ryan Maurer