Sept. 3, 2006
Delaware, Ohio - The Bluffton University volleyball team kicked off its 2006 season at the Bishop Invitational, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University. The two-day tournament consisted of seven other teams including: Bethany College, Grove City College, Lake Erie College, Oberlin College, Ohio Wesleyan University, Transylvania University, Wilmington College.
The Beavers (3-1, 0-0 HCAC) defeated Wilmington in the opening match on Friday evening in four games: 30-21, 30-21, 25-30, 30-25. Bluffton was led offensively by junior opposites Kalla Aeschliman (Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon) and Rachel Alvarez (Convoy, Ohio/Crestview) with 11 and 10 kills respectively. Sophomore Chelsea Wyse (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) and senior Brittany Shultz (Hudson, IN/Prairie Heights) paced the Beaver offense with 23 and 20 assists each. Brittany Roth (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) tallied a team high 21 digs while Wyse added 10 of her own. Bluffton's aggressive serving led to 12 receiving errors by the Quakers while the front line posted 16 total blocks.
In the Friday nightcap, the Beavers took on the Yeowomen of Oberlin College. Bluffton swept the tilt in three games: 30-11, 30-14, 30-21. Freshman Michele Rosen (Harrison, Ohio/Harrison) led the team with 10 kills, while Aeschliman and freshman Audra Coleman (Lima, Ohio/Central Catholic) chipped in with eight apiece. Roth again led the team in digs with 17. Sophomore Kate Barnett (North Bloomfield, Ohio/Lakeview) added nine digs. Freshman attacker Jordan Scifres (Greenwood, IN/Lutheran) ripped five service aces.
On Saturday, the Beavers put their 2-0 mark on the line against Bethany College. Bluffton was again victorious, taking the match in three straight games: 30-14, 30-15, 30-26. Freshman middle Anna Viars (Lebanon, Ohio/Lebanon) led all attackers with 13 kills. Rosen added nine while Coleman recorded eight and hit a team high .375. Shultz paced the offense with 28 assists, Scifres tallied 6 aces, and defensively, Roth tallied 24 digs with senior Katie Moore (Bucyrus, Ohio/Wynford) adding 11 digs.
Bluffton then faced an Ohio Wesleyan squad that also had an unblemished 3-0 mark to start the 2006 campaign. Wesleyan's experience proved to be too much for the young Beaver squad. The Bishops took the championship match in consecutive games by the scores of 30-20, 30-24, 30-22. Scifres had an outstanding match, tallying 16 kills (.324), 12 digs, two aces, and two blocks. Rosen followed with eight kills while Roth and Moore totaled 17 and 15 digs respectively. Wyse and Shultz ran the offense with 15 and 14 assists for their efforts.
Two Beavers, Brittany Roth and Michelle Rosen, were selected to the Bishop Invitational All-Tournament team. For the weekend, Roth tallied 79 digs for a 6.07 dig per game average, while also only having one receiving error on the weekend. Rosen smashed a team-high 36 kills during the weekend.
The Beavers will return to action this Tuesday as they travel to Ada, Ohio, to face #12 Ohio Northern University (2-2) with the first serve scheduled for 7:00 PM.
1st Place Ohio Wesleyan University
2nd Place Bluffton University
3rd Place Grove City College
4th Place Bethany College
5th Place Transylvania University
6th Place Wilmington College
7th Place Oberlin College
8th Place Lake Erie College
All-Tournament Team
Megan Margala, Ohio Wesleyan
Jaime Scharf, Ohio Wesleyan
Brittany Roth, Bluffton
Michele Rosen, Bluffton
Carlie Roberts, Grove City
Morgan White, Transylvania
Katelyn Roush, Wilmington