By Emma Bynes, Sophia Tozzi and Emma Wayland
The Wittenberg Tigers are in the MCVL (Midwest Collegiate Volleyball League), hailing from Springfield, Ohio. Their conference record is 8-1, and this season, the Tigers maintained an impressive overall hitting percentage of .280, with 12.26 kills per set and 1.96 blocks per set. Wittenberg is also excelling on the defensive end, with top-10 ranks nationally in both opponent hitting percentage and digs per set.
Before their historic Cinderella run through the 2026 tournament, the Tigers had never made any NCAA postseason appearances. However, this fact does not worry head coach Jamie Peterson.
“I have had no nerves going into this, just the way that they’ve handled themselves has calmed me entirely. They do a really good job of staying composed and not freaking out in big moments,” Peterson said. “I’m really confident going into this weekend, knowing that at the end of the day, win or lose, we’re going to walk off the court with no regrets. They’re going to give me everything they have.”
Her team has absolutely given everything so far in the tournament. On April 16, the unranked Tigers defeated No. 13, Wentworth College 3-1 at Memorial Gymnasium in Huntington, Pennsylvania. Then, Wittenberg went on to defeat the hosts, No. 2 Juniata (3-2), and then No. 8 Messiah (3-0) in the national quarterfinals to advance into the NCAA D-III Men’s Volleyball Semifinals against No. 3 Carthage inside Blake Arena at 7:30 pm on Thursday, April 23.
Players to watch in the semi-final game
Although a dominant defense has been a factor to Wittenberg’s success this season, individual offensive performances have showcased what exactly the Tigers can be capable of.
Wittenberg is anchored by all-conference senior Eli Halverson. The Tigers’ outside hitter is hitting .309 over the course of his senior season. Halverson has surpassed the 300-kill mark during this season, following up remarkably on a second-team all MCVL honor that he earned last season. This years’ statistics have led Halverson to Wittenberg’s only first team all-MCVL selection in 2026. He’s reached 1,000 career kills and over 100 service aces — his farewell campaign after being selected to the all-conference teams every year of his career could not be coming to a better end.
Michael Yurk also surpassed the 1,000 career kill mark for Wittenberg during the regular season. With Wittenberg’s three pronged offense, Yurk barely trailed Halverson with 224 kills during the Tigers’ regular season. Yurk has notched 24 service aces this season, good enough for second on the team. The senior’s impressive campaign earned him second-team all-MCVL in 2026.
Another second team all MCVL selection, captain Reese Monnin is someone to watch in this matchup. Monnin led all Tigers in hitting percentage, marking .390 in the regular season and regular season blocks with 47. Monnin is averaging nearly three points per set so far this season, if he gets hot, the Wittenberg attack will certainly be difficult for Carthage to stop.
Keys to match up
Wittenberg’s biggest weapon right now is its elite offensive efficiency, you can definitely count on seeing them use it to their advantage. In their most recent match against Messiah they hit .453 as a team with only seven errors.
Another thing that Wittenberg tends to do well is put pressure on the opposing team with their serve. In doing this, they can disrupt Carthage’s serve and system in the semi-finals. Wittenberg needs to pass at a high level to limit aces, and avoid giving Carthage free points.
Lastly, the team must generate stuff blocks or at least slow down swings, turn digs into transition kills, and capitalize on momentum swings. In recent matches, Wittenberg has shown that they can do this but they need to do it consistently in order to beat Carthage.
One of Peterson’s keys for her squad to win is “a really strong serve receive unit that keeps us in system, and so when we’re in system we are really hard to defend.”
Photo courtesy of Springfield College Athletics