FRANKLIN, Ind. - The Bluffton University volleyball team was unable to get untracked as Franklin College downed the Beavers in four tight sets (26-24, 27-25, 21-25, 25-23) on Friday, Oct. 19, 2018. Franklin improved to 10-15 overall and 3-4 in the Heartland Conference, while Bluffton fell out of first place in the HCAC as the Beavers slipped to 13-12 and 5-2 in the conference.

Senior Bethany Martini (Pickerington/North) paced the Beavers with 16 kills and she also did the dirty work with 20 digs. Sophomore Remi Bower (Deshler/Patrick Henry) rammed home 14 winners. Junior Carley Lester (Chesapeake) was efficient out of the middle, knocking down nine kills against one error on just 13 swings for a red-hot .615 hitting percentage. Erin Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) and Jessica Lovell (Grove City) added seven and five kills, respectively, with just one error apiece.

Freshman Brooke Kleman (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) picked up a team-high 21 digs. Weisgarber and fellow senior Courtney Zimpfer (Jackson Center) checked in with 14 and 10 digs, respectively, while Abby Rohrbach (New Knoxville) added eight pickups. Martini fired three aces, while Zimpfer and Rohrbach both finished with two. Lester and Sarah Heydinger (Tiro/Buckeye Central) were in on two blocks each.

Bluffton will be back in the Sommer Center on Wednesday, Oct. 24, for Senior Night when the Beavers welcome Manchester University at 7 p.m. Come out and cheer on your Beavers!

-BEAVERS-