October 13, 2006
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University volleyball team upped its mark to 8-17 and 2-2 in the Heartland Conference with its second consecutive home HCAC victory. The Beavers welcomed conference newcomer Rose-Hulman to Founders Hall and handed the Engineers their second HCAC loss in as many nights. Rose traveled to Defiance where the Yellow Jackets won in straight sets on Thursday, October 12, before making the short trek to Bluffton this evening.
In the first game, Rose-Hulman and Bluffton traded scores and serves into the net until the Beavers tallied three consecutive points to take a 20-14 lead over the Engineers. Bluffton went up, 27-19, before a couple Beaver hitting errors allowed the Engineers to pull with five points. A side out and two serves from KATIE MOORE (Bucyrus/Wynford) gave Bluffton a 30-22 victory in game one.
Much like the opening game, the second contest consisted of missed opportunities from the service line as both teams struggled to put the ball in play. With Rose only down by a point, 21-20, the Beavers rallied for five consecutive scores, giving Bluffton a 26-20 lead before finishing the match 30-21 on a MICHELE ROSEN (Harrison/Harrison) kill.
The third and final game of the evening was back-and-forth until Bluffton's BRITTANY SHULTZ (Hudson, Ind./Prairie Heights) uncorked five straight points from the service line, giving the Beavers a 22-14 lead. The Engineers did not go away quietly, however, as they countered with five straight points of their own to quiet the raucous Bluffton crowd. The Beavers saw their lead dwindle to two points, 29-27, before a JORDAN SCIFRES (Greenwood, Ind./Lutheran) kill iced the match for the upstart Bluffton squad which won its second HCAC match of the season.
KALLA AESCHLIMAN (Wauseon/Wauseon) dominated the Engineers with her weak-side hitting, pounding 11 kills on only 17 total attacks with no hitting errors for an astounding .647 hitting percentage. Her junior counterpart, RACHEL ALVAREZ (Convoy/Crestview), ripped the nets for eight kills and a .318 hitting percentage. Freshman middle hitter ANNA VIARS(Lebanon/Lebanon) tallied nine kills and a .353 hitting percentage. Rosen knocked down eight spikes to help the Beavers' cause. From the back row, freshman libero BRITTANY ROTH(Findlay/Findlay) paced the Beavers with 15 digs while Shultz led Bluffton with 24 assists in the straight-game victory. Shultz ripped three aces while CHELSEA WYSE (Archbold/Archbold) finished with two. AUDRA COLEMAN (Lima/Central Catholic) led the Beavers with four block assists.
For the match, Bluffton hit .287 as once the ball was in play, the Bluffton hitters took care of business at the net.
The Beavers jump right back into action on Saturday, October 14, when they welcome HCAC rival Transylvania to Founders Hall on Alumni Day. The match is scheduled to start at 12 noon.