By Bill Hanefeld Jr., sports information director
November 5, 2005

BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University volleyball team (12-18, 0-7) challenged number 1 seed Mount St. Joseph (25-9, 7-0) in the first round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament, falling to the Lions in four games on Saturday, November 5, 2005. The Beavers closed out their season with an exciting match that included game scores of 16-30, 30-28, 15-30 and 22-30. Coach Yarnell was proud of the way his team performed in the HCAC tourney. He stated that, "The team played well and it peaked at the end of the season."    

Senior KERI KUHLMAN (Shelby/Shelby) capped off her record-setting career at Bluffton with a stellar effort in the loss to the Mount. She hammered home 20 kills as she hit .295 for the match. Kuhlman also picked up seven digs, three blocks, one service ace and one assist. Keri ends her career in second place all-time with 1285 kills during her four years at Bluffton. Sophomore KALLA AESCHLIMAN (Wauseon/Wauseon) put down 11 kills against the front line of the Lions. Sophomore MARIEL NASH (Loudonville/Loudonville) also came up big at the net as she finished with nine kills and two blocks. Freshman libero CHELSEA WYSE(Archbold/Archbold), who picked up 11 digs, led the Beavers defensively. Sophomore RACHEL ALVAREZ (Convoy/Crestview) finished the season with ten digs against Mount St. Joseph. The Beaver hitters were set up by junior BRITTANY SHULTZ (Hudson, Ind./Prairie Heights) who recorded 29 assists on the night.

The powerful Lion swingers were the difference in the match (.252 hitting and 10 blocks) as they combined hard hitting and accuracy to knock the Beavers out of the tournament and end their season. CLAIRE ALFERS led the Mount with 14 kills while teammate BECKY BREETZ hit a remarkable .688 and finished with 11 kills. ASHLEY LANGENKAMP hurt Bluffton with her net play and her serving. She knocked down 11 kills and served eight aces during the Lion victory. Setter KATIE PLAYKO contributed with 39 assists for Mount St. Joseph. The Lions finished with 16 service aces compared to only five for Bluffton.

The Beavers finished their 2005 season with a 12-18 record.