Beavers take control of HCAC with 3-1 win over Rose-Hulman

By: Lynsey Trusty, sports information assistant

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University volleyball team split a tri-match against HCAC-leading Rose-Hulman and #18 nationally-ranked Hope on Saturday, Oct. 6. Rose-Hulman had not lost a set in conference action until Saturday afternoon when the Beavers took three in a row after dropping the lidlifter. The Beavers are now 3-0 in the HCAC after downing Rose-Hulman (21-25, 25-12, 25-17, 25-19).

Bluffton fired a whopping 11 aces at the Engineers and the Beaver serve receive was equally impressive with not one receiving error! Courtney Zimpfer (Jackson Center) with led the Beavers with four aces and freshman Brooke Kleman (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) added three. The offense was led by seniors Bethany Martini (Pickerington/North) with 24 kills and Erin Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) pitched in 13. Weisgarber hit a blistering .440  with just two errors on 25 attacks, while Martini torched the Engineers with a .373 hitting percentage.

Weisgarber also hit another milestone, doling out her 4,000th career assist. She now sits at 4,041 after directing the offense with 42 against Rose-Hulman. Jessie Gibson (Warsaw/River View) and Jessica Lovell (Grove City) both chipped in seven kills apiece. Defensively Abby Rohrbach (New Knoxville) and Kleman were all over, picking up 22 and 20 digs, respectively. Weisgarber added 11 digs to help secure the four-set win.

The #18 ranked Flying Dutchmen took down the Beavers in three sets. Martini and Lovell paced the attack with eight and seven kills, respectively. Freshman Maddie White (Ashland) again stepped into a setting role and had a team-high 17 assists. Rounding up double-digit digs were Kleman with 15, Zimpfer with 11 and Martini with 10.

The Beavers will put their spotless 3-0 Heartland Conference mark on the line Wednesday, Oct. 10, when they travel to rival Defiance College for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Yellow Jackets.

-BEAVERS-