Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College volleyball team fell to the No. 3-nationally ranked Wittenberg University Tigers in straight sets in its first match at the newly renovated Philips Gymnasium Saturday afternoon. The 2017 national runner up took the match with victories of 25-10, 23-13 and 25-14.
After the Tigers jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the opening frame, the Yeowomen battled their way back into the opening game as they recorded six of the next seven points to make it 12-8. Unfortunately for the Oberlin faithful, Wittenberg took the next nine points and never looked back.
In the second set, Oberlin battled early and led 5-4 when
Lexi Mitchell earned a service ace, but the Tigers offense came alive and would lead by as many as 10 points. Oberlin did not help themselves as they committed nine errors on its 41 swings in the set (-.049).
The Oberlin crowd tried to will the Yeowomen back into the third set and a kill by
Natasha Radic cut the Tigers lead to 10-7. Despite the improved play on the Oberlin side in the final game, the Tigers ran away with the third set, 25-13.
Offensively,
Sara Chang had a strong day as she converted on six of her 20 attempts (.150), while Mitchell contributed six kills. In her senior season home opener, Chang also added 10 assists.
The Yeowomen showed improvement at the net defensively as they finished the match with five team blocks. Mitchell had one assisted block and a solo block, while Radic recorded a pair of block assists in the match. Senior defensive specialist
Emily Kelkar led the team with 13 digs.
Wittenberg, who ranks fifth in the country in blocks per set, finished the match with 10 total team blocks. Offensively, the Tigers finished the day with a hitting percentage of .275 as they earned kills on 37 of their 91 attempts.
Oberlin falls to 4-7 on the year and is now 0-1 in conference play. Wittenberg won its conference opener and improves to 10-1 overall.
The Yeowomen will head back on the road for its next three matches starting with a match on Wednesday night at Case Western Reserve University. The opening serve is set for 7 p.m.
