Tiger volleyball players surround Head Coach Paco Labrador for a skull session during a spring practice.

Springfield, Ohio — Wittenberg University's volleyball team has won four of the last five NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region championships, so perhaps it's time to take the Tigers' game to another level. Head Coach Paco Labrador and his nationally ranked squad will do just that in a 12-day trip to Spain.

Nineteen current Tiger players, Labrador, assistant coach Brittany Baume and team manager Kara Guss will fly to Madrid on May 22, accompanied by several "alumni and friends of the program." They will play a tri-match against semi-pro teams from Toledo and Alcobendas during the first four days in Central Spain before heading north to the Rioja region for the remainder of the trip. While there, the Tigers will play two matches against provincial club teams before wrapping up the tour schedule against the Spanish U-19 national team in Soria.

"This is a perfect year to extend the competitive and training season into the summer," said Labrador, who returns every starter from his second consecutive NCAA Division III Final Four team. "We have a tremendously dedicated group of student-athletes who are really making strides on and off the court.

Laura Schumaker '10 goes up for a kill during a recent practice

"This is the ultimate road trip, and hopefully it will bring our team closer together while giving them an opportunity to continue to improve."

Along the way, Labrador expects his players to absorb the educational opportunities and cultural experiences that come with international travel. The travel group will be exposed to different kinds of food, customs and traditions, in addition to sightseeing trips to such sites as El Prado Museum in Madrid, the Roman Cathedral in Toledo and the famous Alcazar of Segovia.

The team has hosted Junior Olympic tournaments and clinics to raise money for the trip in the last few months. The focus of the trip, which has become a tradition in Labrador's four years at Wittenberg, is to build team unity, gain valuable playing experience against top-level competition and to experience a different culture.

"Our last trip in 2003 was an incredible success, and it was a building block for a record-breaking season later that fall," said Labrador, who led the Tigers to a 35-3 record in 2003 and sports a 133-23 overall mark at Wittenberg. "Every student-athlete who comes through our program will have the opportunity to travel abroad once in their four years (per NCAA regulations), which is something we're very proud of at Wittenberg."