CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — Wabash shook off the disappointment of a first-set loss with a determined rally to capture the next two sets, but visiting Wittenberg answered late to hand the Little Giants a 23-25, 25-22, 35-33, 20-25, 11-15 Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League defeat Friday night at Chadwick Court.
The loss dropped Wabash to 8-12 overall and 5-4 in MCVL play, while the Tigers improved to 17-5 overall and 7-1 in the conference. Despite the setback, the Little Giants remain squarely in the race for the final berth in next weekend's MCVL Tournament, entering Saturday a half-game behind Baldwin Wallace for the fourth and final postseason spot. The Yellow Jackets close the regular season Saturday at home against Adrian. If Baldwin Wallace falls, Wabash would earn the berth by virtue of its earlier five-set road victory over BW on March 1, giving the Little Giants the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Wabash came out sharp in the opener, using kills from
Bawibawi Thang,
Patrick Volk, and
Jaden Greenwell to build an early 6-2 edge. The Little Giants maintained control through much of the set, with five lead changes and 12 ties, and appeared on the verge of closing it out after kills by
Shad Wilson and Volk produced a 23-20 lead. Wittenberg flipped the momentum behind Eli Halverson's serve, scoring the final five points of the set. Two service aces and a pair of Wabash attack errors turned the late lead into a 25-23 Tiger win.
The Little Giants answered quickly in the second set. After trailing 8-2, Wabash pieced together a 4-0 burst behind
Christopher Board's serve, highlighted by an ace and a Wilson kill to trim the margin to 8-6. The teams battled through 11 ties before Wabash finally seized control at 22-22. Board delivered another service ace to begin the decisive 3-0 finish, Volk smashed down the next point, and a Greenwell-Wilson block ended the set at 25-22.
The pivotal third set became the centerpiece of the night and one of Wabash's most dramatic frames of the season. The teams combined for 25 ties and 13 lead changes, with momentum swinging almost every rally. Wabash broke open the middle of the set with a 10-4 run, turning a 12-13 deficit into an 18-14 lead behind consecutive kills from Wilson and three straight finishes from Greenwell. Wittenberg stormed back with a 7-1 response to even the score at 21-21, but Wabash repeatedly answered in the extended rally to the finish. Thang delivered kills at 28-28, 29-29, and 31-31, Volk added a finish for a 32-31 edge, and after the Tigers tied again at 33,
Zev Wolverton pounded down a clutch kill for 34-33 before a Wittenberg attack error sealed the marathon 35-33 Little Giant victory.
Wittenberg regained the upper hand in the fourth, hitting .424 in the set while using a 9-4 run to turn a 15-11 edge into a commanding 24-19 advantage. Michael Yurk and Halverson combined for six kills during the stretch, forcing the deciding fifth set with a 25-20 win.
In the fifth, the Tigers scored seven of the first 10 points and never surrendered control. Yurk posted four kills in the deciding set as Wittenberg built a 10-5 lead. Wabash cut the deficit to 10-8 behind back-to-back Thang kills and a block, but kills from Reese Monnin and Yurk restored the separation. Wilson kept the Little Giants alive with a late kill to make it 14-11 before the Tigers closed the match on a block.
Thang led all Wabash hitters with 26 kills, nine digs, and a .347 hitting percentage. Volk added 18 kills on a .364 attack percentage, while Greenwell contributed 12 kills and six block assists. Wilson finished with nine kills, and setter
Matthew Stitle orchestrated the offense with 63 assists and 15 digs.
Piotr Wolan added 14 digs as Wabash totaled 70 kills, 69 assists, 58 digs, 18 service aces, and nine team blocks.
Wittenberg countered with 17 kills from Yurk, 13 from Halverson, and 13 from Monnin while hitting .300 as a team. The Tigers also held a slight edge at the net with 11 total team blocks.
