Tigers Start Season on the Right Foot with a 3-0 Win

Springfield, OH-Wittenberg Men's Volleyball started off the 2025 season by taking on Roanoke in the opening match of the Wittenberg Kickoff Classic. The Tigers ended up winning the match 3-0 to start the season strong with a sweep of the Maroons by set scores of 25-19, 25-17, and 25-13. With the win, Wittenberg is 1-0 on the brand new season, while Roanoke falls to 0-1.

In the first set, Wittenberg started on a 6-2 run, sparked by a couple of Michael Yurk (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard) kills and a service ace from fellow junior Eli Halverson (Hamilton, OH / Badin). Roanoke started to come back and cut the lead to 17-15, but a couple of kills from Halverson and junior Trajan Kress (Cincinnati, OH / Sycamore) led to the Tigers taking the first set 25-19.

To start the second set, Wittenberg started on a tear once again, starting out 3-0 after another Halverson ace and a monster kill from shophomore Reese Monnin (Xenia, OH / Carroll). Roanoke was able to keep it close until the Tigers took a 16-10 lead, led by another couple of Monnin kills and a few attack errors from the Maroons. Yurk got the Tigers to 24 by getting a emphatic kill before a Roanoke service error to give them another set win, 25-17.

The Tigers started on absolute fire in the third set, getting out to a quick 6-2 lead with kills from Yurk and capped by Halverson's third service ace of the set. From there, they didn't look back with Yurk recording six total kills in the set and finishing the sweep by winning the third set 25-13.

Team Leaders

• Yurk led the team in kills with 10 and Kress was right behind with eight of his own.
• Yurk also had the best hitting percentage at .474 with Kress at .467 and Monnin with .429 right behind.
• Sam Richardson (Akron, OH / Walsh Jesuit) had 11 assists to lead the team, while freshmen Carson Hill (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) and Gavin Hagerty (Fishers, IN / Fishers) each logged four of their own.
• Halverson took the lead in service aces with three and Hill logged one of his own as well.
• Jake Downs (Cincinnati, OH / Milford) paced the team with nine digs, while Richardson and Yurk also logged five.
• Freshman Adam Blair (West Chester, OH / Lakota West) had four blocks to lead the team and Kress finished with three.

Team Comparison

• Wittenberg had a better hitting percentage at .318, while Roanoke only hit .012
• The Tigers had 30 digs, compared to the Maroons' 22
• The Tigers also logged 12 blocks compared to Roanoke's seven.
• Wittenberg had only 13 service errors to the Maroons' 19.

Records and Milestones

• Fourth-year head coach Nathan Matthews is now 50-36 all-time at Wittenberg.
• Richardson ranks fifth in program history with 769 assists
• Yurk ranks fourth in program history with 545 kills and Halverson ranks sixth with 510
• Downs is seventh all-time in digs with 336

The Tigers' next match is Saturday, November 11th where they take on Concordia Chicago at 11:00 AM at Pam Evans Smith Arena to continue the Wittenberg Kickoff Classic.