Women’s Volleyball ended this week with two wins and a loss. The Tigers won Wednesday against Ohio Wesleyan in three sets then opened Saturday with a win against the Blue Streaks of John Carroll in four sets before falling to the 21-ranked Fighting Muskies of Muskingum in four sets.
Tigers vs Ohio Wesleyan
The Tigers first set against Ohio Wesleyan on Wednesday started slowly with the Battling Bishops trading points. The Bishops then went on a three-point streak off a block error by Audrey Cox (’20) and a pair of attack errors by Paige Kucinic (’22) leaving the Tigers trailing, 14-10. The Tigers responded a few minutes later with a six-point run to pull out a 17-18 lead before being snapped by the Battling Bishops. The Tigers won set one against the Bishops, 23-25.
Set two saw the Tigers rolling the Bishops over with frequent runs of four points or more. Wittenberg took advantage of frequent errors by the Bishops to push ahead and win set two in convincing fashion, 13-25.
Witt’s dominance in set two continued to follow them into the third set. Wittenberg pushed ahead of the Bishops with a near continuous run of 14-points for a 7-14 lead. The Bishops then responded with a small four-point run to bring the set within three. The red and black then increased the pressure until they pulled out the win over the Bishops, 17-25.
Tigers vs John Carroll
The first set against John Carroll University (JCU), Saturday, opened with the Blue Streaks keeping a tight game with the Tigers until JCU pulled out a three-point lead over the Tigers, 12-15. The Tigers responded with a kill by Cox and an attack error on the Blue Streaks caused by Ashley Brook (’22). The Blue Streaks and Tigers then traded points until a John Carroll attack error tied the set at 20 apiece. The Blue Streaks then responded to win the set, 21-25.
The second set opened slowly, with the Tigers trading with the Blue Streaks until the Tigers went on an three point run to lead the Blue Streaks, 6-3. The teams then returned to trading points, until a service error by Taylor Yontz (’20) started a four-point run by JCU ending with the Blue Streaks leading, 12-13. Wittenberg followed that up with a battle until the end of the set, finishing with the set with a hard faught win, 25-21.
Set three began with teams trading points, until a kill by Brooks jump started a nine-point run for the Tigers, only to be interrupted by two Blue Streak timeouts. The Tigers’ run ended at the end of JCU’s second timeout and with a lead of 18-6. The Blue Streaks responded with four straight points to bring the game within eight. The Blue Streaks battled for the remainder of the set until a pair of kills by Gabi Hancock (’21) and Cora Lutz (’21) stopped the Blue Streaks for a set three win, 25-17.
The final set opened with two Tiger points to be met with a four-point run by JCU. The Tigers responded with several small runs and quickly broke away from the Blue Streaks for a set four win, 25-19.
Tigers at Muskingum
The Tigers opened the first set against 21-ranked Muskingum with two attack errors by Katie Hiestand (’22). The Tigers committed several errors in a row to give Muskingum points until The Fighting Muskies led the Tigers 15-20. Muskingum then went on a five-point run to win set one, 15-25.
The second set opened with a close battle between the Tigers and Fighting Muskies. The Muskies started to pull ahead of the Tigers until a Muskingum service error returned the ball to the Tigers, 18-22. The Tigers rallied to pull a set win away from the snapping jaws of the Fighting Muskies, 27-25.
Witt started the third set trailing Muskingum 4-13. Kucinic awoke the Tigers with a kill to turn the momentum in Wittenberg’s favor. The Tigers pulled within seven points until the Muskies pushed back. The Tigers went on two four-point runs late in the third set, but fell to the Muskies, 22-25.
The fourth and final set bega with a four point lead by the Tigers, which was quickly closed by Muskingum. The Tigers were then beaten by several continuous point streaks by the Fighting Muskies and fell 12-25.
Women’s Volleyball will face Mount Union Saturday at 2:30 p.m. Wittenberg then faces Thomas More on the road Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before returning home to face Oberlin on Oct. 18 at 7:00 p.m. and Wooster on Oct. 19, at 1:00 p.m. for Senior Day.
