Lindsey Penrod

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Wittenberg University volleyball team, coming off the best season in school history, is getting plenty of preseason respect in 2005. With the team motto of "New Faces — Same Tradition" printed on the back of the Tigers' practice T-shirts, Wittenberg will open the season ranked No. 4 in the CSTV/American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Coaches Preseason Poll and No. 1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Tigers, who posted a 35-3 overall record and made the national quarterfinals in 2004, have a 2005 regular season schedule sure to test their mettle and hopefully prepare them for another national title run. The season opens on Friday, Sept. 2, with a home match against defending national champion and second-ranked Juniata, and it continues to include matches against Great Lakes Region rivals Ohio Northern (No. 10) and Mount St. Joseph (No. 9). In addition, Wittenberg is slated to play in tournaments hosted by preseason No. 1 Washington University, last year's national runner-up, and Cal State-East Bay (No. 11).

The Tigers won the NCAC regular season and tournament championships for an eighth straight year in 2004 and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 10th time in 11 seasons. Wittenberg enters the 2005 season riding winning streaks of 59 straight NCAC regular season matches and 22 straight NCAC Tournament matches.

Three starters and seven letterwinners are back in the fold in 2005, led by senior middle hitter Emily Dixon (Granville, Ohio/Granville), senior outside hitter Linda Young (Minster, Ohio/Minster) and sophomore outside hitters Lindsey Penrod (Piqua, Ohio/Piqua) and Emily Bell (Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia Lutheran). They must be sharp for the Tigers to live up to the hype in 2005, since Wittenberg is without four 2004 All-Americans: outside hitter Monica McDonald, middle hitter Kristin Fox, libero Emilie Schmid and setter Sarah Yuskewich, a record-setting quartet of players who all graduated in May 2005.