HIRAM, Ohio - If the Wittenberg Tiger volleyball team goes on to great things in the 2008 season, it is likely that Head Coach Paco Labrador and his student-athletes will look back at Saturday, Oct. 4, as the day when the tide turned, so to speak.
The Tigers ran their winning streak to nine in a row with a pair of victories Saturday at Hiram. After defeating the host Terriers 3-0 (25-21, 25-12, 25-17), seventh-ranked Wittenberg topped fifth-ranked Trinity (Texas) 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 25-27, 26-24). Wittenberg is now 18-2 overall and 6-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) after winning for the 99th time in the last 100 regular season conference matches.
Against Hiram, four Tigers finished with six or more kills, led by senior right-side hitter Jackie Williams (Rocky River, Ohio/Magnificat) with 11 and a .450 attack percentage. Junior middle hitter Kate Snead (Westerville, Ohio/South) contributed nine kills and sophomore right-side hitter Amy Cox (Newark, Ohio/Catholic) with eight kills.
Elsewhere on the stats sheet, junior setter Erin Slattery (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) dished out 20 assists, while senior libero Laura Fender (Toledo, Ohio/St. Ursula) led the defense with 20 digs, followed closely by senior outside hitter Kathleen Graham (Bowling Green, Ohio/St. Ursula) with 18 digs. In addition, Wittenberg finished with 13 team blocks, led by senior middle hitter Jessica Kimble (Dennison, Ohio/Claymont) with six and junior outside hitter Leslie Clark (Marion, Ohio/Harding) with five.
Against Trinity, the Tigers continued to exhibit their trademark balance, both on offense and defense. Williams finished with 15 kills, followed by Kimble and freshman middle hitter Katie Sumner (Dublin, Ohio/Watterson) with eight kills apiece. Slattery and junior setter Kendall Obreza (Gainesville, Fla./Oak Hall) split 52 assists right down the middle.
The Tigers dug out a season-best 93 opposing attack attempts, led by Fender with a personal season-high 34 digs. Graham added career-best 29 digs and Clark contributed 16 digs to go along with four blocks and six kills.