September 15, 2012
By: Meghan Mohr, sports information assistant
ROCHESTER, NY - On day two of the RIT Invite, the Beavers went 2-0 against SUNY-Potsdam and NYU (New York University). In the opener with Potsdam the Beavers started out slowly, losing the first set 25-20 before coming alive in the next three, winning 25-18, 25-15, 25-20.
Freshman Brooke Ruffer (Stryker) and sophomore Kristyn Hovest (Pandora-Gilboa) both had standout performances at the net, racking up 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Kendra Parmenter (Grove City) helped out the Beavers with nine of her own bombers.
Mackenzie Lauber (Mansfield/Madison) set up the offense with 39 assists. Out of the back, the Beavers came alive with senior libero Heather Schierer (Crescent Springs, Ky./St. Henry) racking up 22 digs. Junior Hailey Phillips (Malinta/Patrick Henry) came up with 16 shovels of her own.
Following up their first win of the weekend, the Beavers again started slowly in the first set with NYU, falling 25-20. The next two sets found the Beavers at the top of their game, culminating in 25-16 and 25-22 victories. The fourth set was a close and hard fought battle between the two teams, but in the end NYU took the set 25-23. However, the Beavers came back in set five for a 15-12 win which pushed the Beavers to a 6-6 record on the season.
Parmenter had another stellar performance which helped earn her All-Tournament team honors with a career-best 18 bombers. Ruffer followed up with 12 slams, while Hovest and freshman Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) both pounded nine kills apiece. Junior Bethany Behnfeldt (Napoleon) came back after a tough weekend to hit .368 with eight kills, including the match-winning slammer.
Lauber set a new career-high with 49 assists in the match. The Beaver defense was on fire with five players racking up double-digit digs. Ruffer and Schierer paced Bluffton with 20 digs each, followed by Lindsay Krohn (Marysville, Ind./New Washington) with 13. Lauber and Phillips both chipped in with 12 digs.
The Beavers return home on Wednesday night to take on rival Mount St Joseph in their Heartland Conference opener at 7 p.m. in Founders Hall.
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