Katie Sumner

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The eighth-ranked Wittenberg Tigers absorbed some punishment on the final weekend of the 2009 regular season after losing to three nationally ranked teams in the Trinity National Invitational.

The losses to No. 1 ranked Juniata and No. 17 ranked Trinity dropped Wittenberg to 22-7 overall in 2009, heading into the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Nov. 6-7. The Tigers, who lost on Friday night to No. 2 ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh, are the No. 1 seed and host team for the competition.

Unlike the Friday night loss, which was a rare 3-0 sweep of the Tigers, Wittenberg battled Juniata to a 3-1 defeat and host Trinity to a 3-2 decision. Set scores against Juniata were 19-25, 16-25, 25-21, 19-25, while the set scores against Trinity were 26-24, 12-25, 25-12, 16-25, 11-15.

Against Juniata, the Tigers were led offensively by sophomore Katie Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson) with a .389 attack percentage and a team-high nine kills. Freshman setter Jordan Mungovan (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran) dished out 22 assists, while the defense was paced by freshman libero Christina Gilene (Milford, Ohio/McNicholas) with 18 digs. Sophomore Kimmie Dyer (Copley, Ohio/Copley) contributed six kills and 15 digs.

The third and final match of the Tigers' weekend trip to Texas featured another fine performance from Sumner, who again totaled nine kills, this time on a .318 attack percentage. She added three blocks. She went on to earn all-tournament team honors.

Elsewhere on the stats sheet, Wittenberg picked up seven kills and 13 digs from Dyer, while sophomore Hillary Monnin (Russia, Ohio/Russia) added four service aces and 10 digs. Gilene again finished with 18 digs, while senior setter Erin Slattery (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) dished out 14 assists.