Wittenberg Secures Second Place in MCVL With Win Over Trine

ANGOLA, IN. — Wittenberg's men's volleyball team wrapped up second place in the Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League (MCVL) with a 3-0 road win over Trine at Hershey Hall on Saturday, April 5. 

With the victory, the Tigers advance to the MCVL tournament that will take place next Friday and Saturday, April 11-12, in Alliance, Ohio. Wittenberg, conference champs last season, was picked to finish second behind Baldwin Wallace. Wittenberg will be the second seed in the tournament, while Baldwin Wallace will be the No. 3 seed after falling to Mount Union today in a five-set thriller. Mount Union will be the tournament host after going undefeated in the MCVL at 8-0 to claim the conference title. The Tigers finished at 7-1, Baldwin Wallace at 6-2, and Trine, the No. 4 seed in the tournament, ended at 5-3. 

Wittenberg will take on Baldwin Wallace in the tournament, while Mount Union will face off against Trine on Friday, April 11, with times to be announced later. The Tigers, who finish the regular season at 20-10, defeated Baldwin Wallace, 3-1.

The win over Trine was the Tigers' fifth in a row. Trine ends the regular season at 15-8. Wittenberg turned in a hitting percentage of .556 in set one to post the 'W', 25-14. Set two saw 14 ties and three lead changes before the Tigers topped the Thunder, 27-25. Looking for the sweep in three, Witt jumped out to a 6-2 early lead, but Trine rallied back and took the set, 18-25.The Tigers regrouped, however, grabbing an 11-2 lead in set four and never looking back en route to the 25-14 win to claim the match.

Michael Yurk (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard) tallied 10 kills in the match to bring his season total to 304, keeping him on pace to beat his program record of 342 set last year. Yurk, a junior, has now compiled 839 kills in just three seasons with the Tigers and is two kills shy of the program record for career kills, currently held by Ashton Sellars, who had 841 between 2015-2019.

Team Leaders  

• Zach Newton (Morgantown, WV / Franklin Community) led the team with 13 kills on 28 total attacks. He also registered an ace, 10 digs, one block, and 14.5 points. 
• Adam Blair (West Chester, OH / Lakota West) and Michael Yurk (Indianapolis, IN / Bishop Chatard)each tallied 10 kills. Blair added four blocks, two digs and 13.5 points. Yurk added 14 digs and 10 points.
• Carson Hill (Liberty Township, OH / Lakota East) led the team in assists with 42. He also tied Yurk for the team lead in digs with 14. He also added two blocks, one service ace, and nine kills on 15 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .467.
• Jake Downs (Cincinnati, OH / Milford) added 12 digs.

Team Comparison

• Wittenberg had 56 kills on 145 total attacks, 47 assists, nine blocks, four service aces, and 74 digs.
• Trine had 41 kills on 148 total attacks, 38 assists, 56 digs, nine blocks, and six service aces.
• The Tigers had a hitting percentage of .262 to .142 for the Thunder.

Written By: Cindy Holbrook