Tigers Start Weekend Even at Home Tournament

Springfield, OH-The Tigers had a strong start to the Jim Coleman Memorial tournament, going on to defeat Randolph College in their first match, 3-1, with set scores of 22-25, 25-16, 25-19 and 25-20. They then went on to fall to #12 Loras, 3-1, with scores of 25-27, 29-27, 25-19 and 25-23. After the two matches Wittenberg's record is now 5-3 on the season and the program is only two wins away from their 100th in program history.

Against Randolph, the Tigers started and played many freshman players and a few other athletes who hadn't seen the floor much yet this season. After a close loss in the first set, the Tigers were able to come back strong and run away with the next three after finding their footing and building up their chemistry.

After a tough fought first set against Loras, the Tigers were able to come away with and early lead and after another back and forth set, the Duhawks were able to even it at one apiece. The Tigers dropped the third set and after another set decided by only two points, the Tigers evened their record on the day to 1-1.

Team Leaders vs. Randolph

• Harrison Mitchell (Dublin, OH / Scioto) and Aidan Cunnigham (Sandy Spring, MD / Sherwood) each tallied 11 kills to lead the team.
• Carson Hill (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) had the vast majority of the assists, with 35 on the match.
• Hill also led the team in digs, while Aaron Miller (West Chester, OH / Lakota West) was right behind with nine and Mitchell had eight digs as well.
• Cunningham and Zach Newton (Morgantown, WV / Franklin Community) both logged three service aces apiece to lead the team.
• Patterson Reed (Louisville, KY / St. Xavier) totaled five blocks and Mitchell was right on his heels with four on the match.

Team Comparison vs. Randolph

• Wittenberg had the edge in hitting percentage, .215 to .058 and had 40 assists to Randolph's 30.
• The Tigers more than doubled the blocks of Randolph, 7-3.
• The Tigers also had 12 blocks to the Wildcats 8.
• Wittenberg also had the edge in digs as well, 54-44.

Team Leaders vs. Loras

• Michael Yurk (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard) paced the team with 16 kills and Adam Blair (West Chester, OH / Lakota West) logged 13 of his own, while Reese Monnin (Xenia, OH / Carroll) also finished in double digit kills with 11.
• Gavin Hagerty (Fishers, IN / Fishers) took the team lead in assists with 23 and Sam Richardson (Akron, OH / Walsh Jesuit) was right on his tail with 21 assists of his own.
• Richardson also led the team in service aces with two while three other players added one each.
• Richardson and Jake Downs (Cincinnati, OH / Milford) each logged 10 digs to share the lead for the team.
• Yurk, Monnin and Matthew Gerardi (New Carlisle, OH / Tecumseh) each had two total blocks for a three-way share of the team lead.

Team Comparison vs. Loras

• The Tigers had the edge over the Duhawks in hitting percentage, .267 to .234.
• Wittenberg also led in assists, with 47 to Loras' 41.

The Tigers will have two more matches at home on Saturday, January 25, where they will take on #1 Southern Virginia at 2:30 PM and Edgewood at 5:00 PM. Both matches will be played at Pam Evans Smith Arena.