Men’s Volleyball Pulls Off Upset of Baldwin Wallace, 3-1

BEREA, OH – Wittenberg's Men's Volleyball team picked up its first victory under the direction of new head coach Jamie Peterson and it was a big one!

The Tigers defeated host Baldwin Wallace, 3-1, in scores of 19-25, 25-22, 25-19, and 27-25 on Friday night, March 14, at Ursprung Gym inside the Lou Higgins Center in a Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL). Baldwin Wallace, currently ranked No. 20 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll and picked to win the conference, drops to 14-9 on the season and 2-1 in the MCVL. Wittenberg improves to 15-8 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

"That was the definition of grit," said Peterson, who is the first female head coach in the 10-year history of Wittenberg Men's Volleyball. "We played a tough team that made changes mid-match, and we responded really well. We had players come off the bench ready to go and take big swings. I am super proud of their toughness."

After stumbling in the first set and hitting just .107, Wittenberg regrouped and turned things around quickly. And even though Baldwin Wallace led in kills 16-10, the Tigers turned in a hitting percentage of .471 and edged out the Yellow Jackets in a close second set. Baldwin Wallace couldn't muster much offense and hit just .115 in game three. Then, it was nip and tuck in the final set with seven total ties. With things tied at seven-all, the Tigers went on an 11-5 run to go up 18-12. However, the Yellow Jackets put together a run of their own and tied things at 24-all before Witt got a kill from Eli Halverson (Hamilton, OH / Badin) and a service ace from Zach Newton (Morgantown, WV / Franklin Community) to deliver the final blow and secure the 27-25 win.

Team Leaders  

• Eli Halverson (Hamilton, OH / Badin) led the team with 10 on 21 total attacks for 11.5 points. He also had two assists, four digs, one solo block, and one block assist.
• Zach Newton (Morgantown, WV / Franklin Community) tallied nine kills on 28 total attacks for 14.5 points. He also landed four service aces, three block assists, and four digs.   
•  Adam Blair (West Chester, OH / Lakota West) added eight kills on eight total attacks for 11 points. He also had two solo blocks and two block assists.
• Trajan Kress (Cincinnati, OH / Sycamore) added eight kills and 19 total attacks for 12 points. He also had three service aces, a solo block, and five digs. 
• Jake Downs (Cincinnati, OH / Milford) had a team-high 15 digs.
• Carson Hill (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) led the team in assists with 30. He also added four kills and seven digs.
• Reese Monnin (Xenia, OH / Carroll) added seven blocks for the Tigers - three solo and four block assists.

 Team Comparison 

• Baldwin Wallace led in most categories with 56 kills on 129 total attacks, 53 assists, five service aces, and 40 digs. The Yellow Jackets also had 25 attack errors and a hitting percentage of .240.
• Wittenberg tallied 43 kills on 104 total attacks, 36 assists, seven service aces, and 39 digs. The Tigers also had a hitting percentage of .250.

Up Next

Wittenberg will take on Mount Union at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 15, in another MCVL match.