Wittenberg, Ohio – This past weekend your Mount St. Joseph women's volleyball team traveled to Wittenberg University to compete in the Wittenberg fall classic. The Lions would compete in 3 total matches over the weekend facing off against the host team Wittenberg first followed by Geneva and Asbury on Saturday. The Lions would fall to Wittenberg on Friday but bounce back strong on Saturday defeating both opponents in straight sets.
Match One: MSJ – 0 Wittenberg – 3
In the opening match the Lions would start off slow in set number one after falling behind early to the #16 ranked Wittenberg Tigers. The Mount would find themselves trailing 7-3 before they were able to rip off an 8-2 run and bringing them ahead 11-9. During the run the Lions were sparked by two service aces from
Lauren Silbernagel and
Addie Conley. Wittenberg would then go on a run of their own and tie the set at 16-16. From that point on the Lions were unable to hold the tigers as they dropped set 1 25-20. Wittenberg would not look back as they would hold the Lions off in sets two and three to defeat the Lions 3-0.
Emily Abshire would lead the Lions with 7 kills in the matchup.
Match Two: MSJ – 3 Geneva – 0
On day two of the tournament the Mount would open the day facing off with Geneva College. The match would flow back and forth for most of the first set. With the score sitting at 12-10 in favor of the Lions, a couple of kills by
Emily Abshire and
Ruthie Bingham boosted the Lions to a 17-11 lead. With Geneva slowly closing the gap, Abshire would put the final point of the board for a set one win. Set two was a slower start for the Lions as they trailed 10-6.
Grace Wilking would go on a 3-point service streak to change momentum. As the score read 20-19 in favor of the Mount,
Morgan Whitaker would close it out with 3 kills and earn the Lions a 25-20 win. In set 3 the Mount would once again have to work in comeback fashion. Trailing 15-9, kills by Abshire, Burton, and Whitaker plus Geneva service errors brought the score back to even. The Mount would finish the match late in the third set by the score of 25-22 and defeat the Golden Tornados in 3 sets.
Morgan Whitaker would lead the Lions with 12 kills in the matchup.
Match Three: MSJ – 3 Asbury – 0
In the final match of the Wittenberg Fall Classic the Lions would go up against Asbury University. Set one opened up with the Mount jumping out to a 4-0 lead. As Asbury went on a run of their own,
Erin Androne would set up to serve and produce 3 straight service aces to grow the Mount's lead. The Lions would finish set one on a 10-2 run to defeat Asbury 25-13. In set 2, the Lions got out to a fast start as Abshire, Young, and Whitaker would fill up the Kills category bringing the score to 11-4. The Mount would grow their lead to the score of 20-11 before Asbury trimmed the lead to 4. Once again, Abshire and Whitaker would put the final touches on the set boosting the Lions to a 25-20 win. The Mount again wasted no time getting up on the score board and would not look back. After taking a commanding 21-7 lead in set three,
Grace Young would finish the contest with a kill from
Sam Buschur. Abshire and Young would once again lead the Lions with double digit kills.
KEY PERFORMERS:
Grace Young led the way for the Lions this weekend finishing with 23 kills and a hitting percentage of .526. The Lions would also have key performances from
Emily Abshire who would add 28 kills and
Morgan Whitaker finishing with 25.
Junior Libero
Erin Androne would lead the Lions in digs with 35 on the weekend.
UP NEXT: Your Mount St. Joseph University women's volleyball team will be back in action on Friday, September 23rd when they will host the MSJ invitational. The Lions first matchup will be against the Captains of Christopher Newport at 6 pm followed by Otterbein University at 8pm. On Saturday, September 24th they will conclude the invitational when they take on Ohio Northern University at 1pm.
