After shutting out both Oberlin College (13-19) and Hiram College (24-7) 3-0 in the first two rounds of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament the Tigers looked poised to upset the first seed host Wittenberg University, a team ranked fourth in the nation who had won the tournament eight years in a row.
“We went into our game … ready for a tough, competitive match," junior outside-hitter Lauren Falotico said. “We competed well and didn’t let down easily.”
But despite the Tigers’ evident teamwork and hard-fought effort, Wittenberg proved too strong, as the hosts won the championship in four sets.
Throughout the entirety of the match, neither team appeared to be in complete control. After losing the opening set 16-25, the Tigers battled back and edged Wittenberg 25-23 in the second set. The final two sets proved to be even more of a seesaw-battle, but the Tigers just weren’t able to put Wittenberg away.
“There’s a reason why they’re ranked where they are,” head coach Deb Zellers said. “By the same token, we felt that we had the capability to not only compete with them, but to beat them. To fall short of that was disappointing, even though it was a very competitive match.”
Like Falotico and Zellers, senior middle hitter Mary Kate Etling was impressed with how the team played as a whole.
“We went into this past weekend fully prepared,” Etling said. “Unfortunately things did not go our way, but we knew at the end of the tournament that we left it all out there.”
But Saturday’s loss against Wittenberg didn’t spell the end for the Tiger’s impressive season. On Monday, the Tigers were one of only 20 teams nationally to receive an at-large bid to advance to the NCAA Division III Championship.
“Those at-large bids are very competitive,” Zellers said. “It’s tough because there are a lot of great second-place teams and conferences across the country. That’s why we set out to win our conference championship … We didn’t want to put it in the hands of a selection committee to determine if we should go or not.”
Nevertheless, it would have come as a big surprise if DePauw hadn’t earned a bid. Besides how they played in the Conference tournament, the team showed their potential through the strength of their regular season schedule. Eight of the team’s ten losses came against teams ranked in the top 25.
“I’m just very proud of our volleyball team this season,” Zellers said. “Because we played such a tough schedule, it’s been a more mentally-grueling season. They’ve been an easy team for a coach to want to fight for.”
Despite the obvious excitement in advancing, the Tigers will have to turn right around and get back to work this week, as they only have two official days to practice before heading off to the tournament.
“Our focus is mainly on us, not the other teams,” Falotico said. “If we have a strong, confident mindset going into the Tournament, we will be successful.”
The Tigers will open the tournament this Thursday against the University of Chicago (26-12) at 6:30 P.M in Kenosha, Wisc.
“We have had the mindset all season that in November, this is exactly where we wanted to be,” Etling said. “Now is our chance to capitalize.”