October 27, 2007

RICHMOND, Indiana - The Bluffton University volleyball team traveled to Earlham College on Saturday in hopes of spoiling the Quakers senior day. The Beavers, however, would be denied in three straight games by the scores of 30-12, 31-29, 30-24.

Beaver errors in the first game gave the host squad a comfortable margin of victory with a 30-12 decision. Bluffton tallied only seven kills in thirty-three attempts while committing six hitting errors in the game for a .030 hitting percentage. 

In the second game, the Beavers hit for a team-high .157 hitting percentage only to fall by the score of 31-29. On Tuesday, it was a young Bluffton squad that came back from seven-point deficits to clinch games and eventually the match. The Beavers found themselves on the other side of the table this afternoon as they fell after holding a 29-24 advantage over the Quakers.

Bluffton was able to come within three points in the third game, but hitting errors by the Beavers late in the match gave Earlham all the momentum it needed to close out the match with a convincing 30-24 win. The Beavers fell to 11-18 with the loss while Earlham improved to 13-15 overall. 

KAYLA PICKERING (Jamestown/Greenview) led the Beavers with a team-high 10 kills while also posting her 14th double-double of the season with 12 digs. RACHEL ALVAREZ (Convoy/Crestview) led the squad in hitting percentage with a .214 clip (5-2-14).  SHAUNA ROWLAND (Bucyrus/Wynford) and CHELSEA WYSE(Archbold/Archbold) combined for 23 assists (13 and 10), while sophomore libero BRITTANY ROTH (Findlay/Findlay) paced the Beavers with 17 digs. 

The Beavers return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 30, when they host HCAC foe Mt. St. Joseph. The match, which will honor Bluffton's lone senior Rachel Alvarez, with the Lions is slated to start at 7 p.m.

-BEAVERS-