MEADVILLE, Pa. - Top-ranked Wittenberg University snapped Allegheny's four-match winning streak and improved to 15-0 on the season with a 3-0 win in a Saturday matinee at the David V. Wise Center.

The Tigers (15-0, 3-0 NCAC), ranked first in the most recent American Volleyball Coaches Association national poll, took the three sets by scores of 25-13, 25-19, and 25-12 to drop the Gators to 11-8 on the season, and 0-2 in North Coast Athletic Conference play.

Wittenberg showcased a stellar offensive attack, boasting a .381 hitting percentage for the game after committing just six attack errors in 84 attempts. Conversely, the Gator front line attack struggled, committing 22 errors over the three sets.

Senior Karissa Welker paced Allegheny, hitting .357 on the afternoon with eight kills against just two attack errors.  Freshman Grace Lengauer ranked second on the squad with four kills, while senior Hannah Cubarney and sophomore Alysha Crowther each put away three kills apiece, with Crowther totaling a team-best three blocks, and Cubarney two.  

Senior Terra Schall recorded a team-best 11 digs on defense, with junior Rachel Slotterback chipping in with eight, and seniors Justine Kelly and Kylee Karczewski five apiece.  Kelly also totaled 22 assists from the setter spot.

In the opening set, Wittenberg looked primed to pull away early after opening up a quick 5-1 lead, but the Gators would chip away at the deficit.  After a pair of service errors, the Gators cut the gap to 6-4, before Elizabeth Debich and Kelly put down kills on back-to-back rallies to pull to within 7-6.  The teams traded the next several points leading to a 9-8 Wittenberg lead, before the Tigers would erupt for a 9-3 run to eventually pull ahead 18-11.  The Gators would cut it to 18-13 after a Tiger service error and a tandem block from Kelly and Crowther, but Wittenberg would score the final five points to take the set 25-13.

Set two started out in much of the same fashion as the first, with the Tigers quickly jumping out to leads of 4-0 and 6-1.  A kill from Welker would halt the Wittenberg momentum, and spur a 6-3 Gator run, highlighted by an ace from Leah Franzluebbers and a spike from Rachel MacQuarrie that trimmed the deficit to 9-7.  The Tigers would score the next three points, but the Gators would answer with three straight of their own, on two kills from Crowther and one from Lengauer, to make it 12-10.  The squads would match points over the next several serves, before the Tigers pulled ahead 20-15.  A Tiger error followed by a kill from Kelly on a dump brought the Gators to within three, but the Tigers would pull away by recording four of the final six points to take the set 25-19, and jump out to a 2-0 match lead.

After the back-and-forth second set, the Tigers flexed their muscles in the decisive third frame, jumping out to a 7-2 lead and never looking back.  A pair of kills from Lengauer brought the Gators to within four, 9-5, but they would get no closer, as the Tigers closed out the set on a 16-6 run to take the set 25-12, and the match 3-0.

Wittenberg was led on the stats sheet by Maddie Fischer, who put down 15 kills on 23 swings, while teammate Aubrey Cox had 10 kills on 13 attempts.  Taylor Brown posted a team-leading 11 digs, while Megan Flaherty totaled 10 digs and 33 assists.

The Gators will have a quick turnaround, as they are back in action on Sunday, Oct. 8, playing host to DePauw University for a 1 p.m. Senior Day bout in the Wise Center.  Prior to the match, Allegheny's six seniors will be recognized for their four-year careers with the Gators.