It’s Five Wins in a Row for Men’s Volleyball Team

SPRINGFIELD, OH. – Day two of the Springfield Men's Volleyball Showcase saw Wittenberg pick up two more victories to increase its win streak to five in a row on Saturday, Feb. 15, at Pam Evans Smith Arena, part of the Health, Wellness & Athletics Complex.

Wittenberg, now 10-2 at home, defeated Westminster in the first match of the day, 3-1, then Illinois Tech in the final court appearance of the day, 3-2, and improved to 12-6 overall. Westminster dropped to 7-9 on the season, while Illinois Tech fell to 1-9. 

Against Westminster, the Tigers came out hitting, turning in a .324 percentage on the day to just .171 for the Blue Jays for the win in scores of 25-21, 25-16, 21-25, and 25-16. Set one was a back-and-forth battle with five ties and several lead changes, then after an 18-all tie, the Tigers went on a 7-4 run to claim the victory. After three early ties in the second set, Witt went on a 14-5 run to go up 18-9 and never looked back. After a stumble in game three, the Tigers regrouped to go up 7-0 out of the gate in game four to easily capture the victory.

In match two, Illinois Tech put up a tough fight against the Tigers taking them to five games 25-17, 25-21, 21-25, 22-25, and 15-10. Witt had a commanding lead in set one, however, the next three games were nip and tuck with 16 ties and numerous lead changes. In set five, Illinois Tech had six hitting errors and a hitting percentage of just .042, while the Tigers hit .333 helping them secure the 'W.' 

Factoring into the Tigers' win over Illinois Tech was the fine play of Eli Halverson  (Hamilton, OH / Badin) who paced the team with 23.5 points.

Team Leaders vs. Westminster

• Michael Yurk  (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard) led the team in kills with 17 on 32 total attacks. He also had 17.5 points, eight digs, and one block assist.
• Reese Monnin (Xenia, OH / Carroll) recorded 10 kills on 19 total attacks for 12.5 points. He also had a service ace, two digs, one solo block, and one block assist.
• Gavin Hagerty (Fishers, IN / Fishers) tallied 22 assists, a service ace, and seven digs.
• Sam Richardson (Akron, OH / Walsh Jesuit) added 21 assists, three service aces, and five digs.
• Jake Downs (Cincinnati, OH / Milford) had a team-high 12 digs.
• Aidan Cunningham  (Sandy Spring, MD / Sherwood) added eight kills on 18 total attacks for 11 points.  He also landed three service aces and picked up eight digs. 

Team Comparison vs. Westminster

• Team totals included 54 kills for Witt to 41 for the Blue Jays. 
• Total attacks were close with the Westminster registering 117 to the Tigers' 111.
• Wittenberg had 51 assists, while the Blue Jays had 34. Witt led in digs 46-36 and in service aces 8-4.
• Westminster had 15 block assists to just six for the Tigers.

Team Leaders vs. Illinois Tech

• Eli Halverson  (Hamilton, OH / Badin) led the team with 18 kills in 35 total attacks, 23.5 points, four service aces, eight digs, a solo block and a block assist.
• Trajan Kress (Cincinnati, OH / Sycamore) added 10 kills in 19 total attacks. He also had five digs, two block assists, and 11 points.
• Carson Hill (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) led the team in assists with 42 and added six kills, one service ace, eight digs, 7.5 points, and one block assist.
• A pair of freshmen contributed to the win. Riley Mingus (Georgetown, IN / Floyd Central) led the team in digs with nine and Patterson Reed (Louisville, KY / St. Xavier) turned in one solo block and six block assists. Reed also had nine kills and 13 points.

 Team Comparison vs. Illinois Tech

• Wittenberg had 56 Kills, 112 total attacks, 47 assists, six service aces, 38 digs and 14 blocks against the Scarlet Hawks. 
• Illinois Tech turned in 47 kills, 132 total attacks, 43 assists, 13 service aces, 32 digs, and 10 block assists.
• Witt turned in a hitting percentage of .357 to the Hawks' .136.

Up Next

Wittenberg will travel to Juniata College to play in the Eagles Invite on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21-22. The Tigers will play Juniata at 8 p.m. Friday followed by two matches against Arcadia and Penn St. Altoona, at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., respectively, on Saturday.