September 21, 2012
By: Meghan Mohr, sports information assistant

LEXINGTON, Ky. - To open the OAC/HCAC Challenge, the Beavers had a rematch with local rival Ohio Northern. This time the Polar Bears were out for revenge, taking care of the Beavers in three sets, 25-19, 25-18, 25-18. 

The Beaver offense never gained the momentum that gave them the victory over the Bears the first time around. Leading Bluffton was freshman Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) with seven kills. Fellow freshman Kendra Parmenter (Grove City) finished with six kills, followed by sophomore Kristyn Hovest (Pandora-Gilboa/Gilboa) who chipped in five kills. 

Mackenzie Lauber (Mansfield/Madison) dished out 20 assists in the loss. Defensively speaking, senior libero Heather Schierer (Crescent Springs, Ky./St. Henry) led with 12 digs, followed by Hailey Phillips' (Malinta/Patrick Henry) nine pickups. Kyleigh Whitsel (Sheffield Lake/Brookside) added six digs of her own. 

Up next in the tournament for the Beavers was Muskingum University. The match was a marathon five-setter, leaving Bluffton the victors (25-17, 18-25, 16-25, 25-11, 15-13). With a tweak to the line-up, the Beavers had a new leading hitter in the form of Schierer who dominated the net with 16 kills. Brown followed by pounding 11 bombers. 

Lauber handed out 28 assists with help from Whitsel who tallied seven assists. Phillips took the libero position by storm with 29 digs. Lindsay Krohn (Marysville, Ind./New Washington) followed it up with 16 digs. Lauber and freshman Danica Hicks (Convoy/Crestview) chipped in with 11 digs apiece. 

On Saturday the Beavers take on Baldwin-Wallace at 10 a.m. followed by a 2 p.m. matchup with Capital.

-BEAVERS-