SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - At Pam Evans Smith Arena, the Adrian men's volleyball team lost its conference opener for the first time since 2018, dropping a three-set decision to Wittenberg.

Chase Heuer turned in his third-straight effort with 10-or-more kills, going for a team-high 13 successful attacks behind a 0.114 hitting percentage. However, it was not enough to fend off a Tigers' offense that, as a team, hit 24.2 percent on the attack.

The hosts set the tone early with a 5-0 run to open the first set, and despite a Bulldog counter to draw within two points, the Tigers would eventually build their cushion up to as many as seven points en route to a one-set lead.

In the subsequent frame, Adrian slipped out to a 5-3 lead in the early stages with the help of a couple of kills from Heuer, but a 10-5 run by Wittenberg in response ultimately sunk the visitors into a two-sets-to-none hole that they could not climb their way out of.

Tedrick Gula added six kills for the Bulldogs. Brandon Ravelo led the black and gold with 22 assists, while Samuel Williams paced the back line with 11 digs.

Adrian takes a brief detour from its conference slate to visit Lawrence Tech on February 15. The Blue Devils upended the 'Dogs in straight sets back at the Michigan Men's Volleyball Invitational in Grand Rapids on January 14.