Greencastle, Ind. - In a tight match throughout, DePauw prevailed with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-23) North Coast Athletic Conference win over visiting Wittenberg. The hosts improved to 14-8 overall and 3-1 in the NCAC, while Wittenberg dropped to 11-8 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
The Tigers opened the match by scoring the first three points before Wittenberg countered with the next three. DePauw scored five straight. Wittenberg came back and the set was tied at 22-22, but DePauw won the final three to take a 1-0 lead.
Wittenberg took the early lead in the second set and stretched it to 19-14 with a 5-1 run. DePauw scored three straight to trim the lead to 20-17 before Wittenberg stopped the run. DePauw, however, scored the set's final eight points capped by
Grace Myers' ace to push the match lead to 2-0.
A back-and-forth third set ensued with Wittenberg holding a 19-18 lead. Oliva Karwin's kill was followed by an ace from
Riley Kamer and
Belle Shelton's kill as the hosts regained the lead at 21-19. Wittenberg eventually caught the Tigers at 23-23, but the host Tigers scored the final two seal the match win.
Karwin led the Tigers with 11 kills, while
Kendall Herrick totaled 18 assists and Karwin followed with 16. Myers totaled five aces and 25 digs in the win with
Ashley Haas leading with four blocks.
Kait Colahan and Sam Fincham each had nine kills for Wittenberg with Mary Sulfridge leading with 25 assists. Ally White had two aces and 26 digs with three players finishing with one block each.
DePauw outhit Wittenberg, .165-.128, and held a narrow 38-37 edge in kills. The Tigers also led in aces, 9-3.
DePauw hosts Oberlin on Saturday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m.
