Men’s Volleyball Falls to Wittenberg in a Road Conference Contest

Nick Irelan and Chris Moehl (photo courtesy of Lauren Gardner '25)
Nick Irelan and Chris Moehl (photo courtesy of Lauren Gardner '25)

By: Athletic Communications Intern Andrew Zimmerman '22

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio— The Baldwin Wallace University men's volleyball team faced Wittenberg University for a road MCVL matchup inside Pam Evans Smith Arena. The Yellow Jackets fell to the Tigers 3-1 by set scores of 27-25, 19-25, 23-25, and 17-25.

BW (6-10, 1-2 MCVL) was led by sophomore outside hitters Michael Beard (Hilliard/Darby) and Nick Irelan (Powell/Olentangy Liberty) each with 13 kills and 10 digs. Sophomore setter Brandon Long (Hinckley/Metea Valley, Ill.) also dished out 41 assists in the match.

1st Set

  • Both teams traded scores to start the set
  • Wittenberg went on a quick 4-0 scoring run to take a 7-4 lead
  • The Yellow Jackets fought back and an Irelan kill helped regain the BW lead at 10-9
  • The teams continued to trade leads throughout the set
  • BW led 24-22 after consecutive Wittenberg attacking errors
  • Wittenberg crawled their way back to a 25-24 lead
  • BW went on a 3-0 scoring run, topped off by a Beard kill

2nd Set

  • A back-and-forth contest throughout the set with the neither team pulling ahead
  • BW managed to trim the Wittenberg lead to 16-15, but the Tigers pulled ahead with a 9-4 run, and grabbed the second set win by a 25-19 score

3rd Set

  • Both teams continued to play each other tough, opening the set at an 8-8 tie
  • A quick 4-0 Wittenberg scoring run forced the Yellow Jackets to call a timeout at 12-8
  • Wittenberg continued to build on their hot streak, leading 22-15 late in the set
  • The Yellow Jackets built late momentum, cutting the Wittenberg advantage to 24-23, before the Tigers won the set off a serving error by BW

4th Set

  • Wittenberg continued to build off their momentum, opening the fourth set with a 10-5 lead, forcing a Yellow Jacket timeout
  • BW continued to add more scores in the match, but Wittenberg matched the Yellow Jackets scores and finished the set and match with the victory

BW and Wittenberg were fairly even in the total kills category, with Wittenberg having 47 kills compared to BW's 46. However, the Yellow Jackets were plagued by the attacking errors, with a total of 31 compared to Wittenberg's 14.

The Yellow Jackets return to action on Saturday, March 5 as they remain on the road, traveling to Cincinnati to face MCVL conference opponent Mount St. Joseph University. The match will begin at 1 p.m. inside the Harrington Center.