Sept. 13, 2008
HUNTINGTON 3, BLUFFTON 0 - BOX SCORE
BLUFFTON 3, DOMINICAN 0 - BOX SCORE
DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Bluffton University volleyball team had its three-match winning streak snapped by Huntington, but the Beavers rebounded to knock off Dominican University on Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Defiance Invitational. Bluffton, along with champion Defiance College and Concordia, finished the weekend 3-1 and improved to 10-4 overall.
Sophomore Allison Streicher (Continental/Continental) continued to impress in Saturday's lidlifter, smoking 11 kills with no errors on 18 total attacks for an unbelievable .618 hitting percentage in Bluffton's loss to Huntington (25-22, 25-16, 25-20). Freshmen JENNA ESHLEMAN (Landisville, Penn./Hempfield) and CHRISTIANA SINDELAR (Napoleon/Napoleon) pounded nine and six kills, respectively, while hitting .333 and .364.
Finding her mates for 28 assists was sophomore setter SHAUNA ROWLAND (Bucyrus/Wynford). Sophomore CRYSTAL AUGSBURGER (Bowling Green/Bowling Green) ripped four aces, while junior libero BRITTANY ROTH (Findlay/Findlay) and freshman MANDI LEEMASTER (Fremont/Old Fort) both chipped in with six digs.
Bluffton's loss kept the Beavers from a clash against eventual tournament champion Defiance College in the finals. The Beavers responded with a sweep of the Dominican University Stars in the No. 2 vs. No. 2 matchup.
Streicher, who was named to the All-Tournament team, again topped the Beavers with nine kills for the match. Eshleman knocked down eight spikes and fellow freshman HEATHER RODMAN(Mansfield/Mansfield Christian) patrolled the net with four block assists. For the tournament Streicher was on fire, racking up 39 kills with only seven errors for a .340 hitting percentage.
Rowland tallied 24 assists and she tied Eshleman for team-high honors with 11 digs for her fifth double-double of the 2008 campaign. Roth added 10 digs in the Bluffton victory.
The Beavers return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 16, when they make the short trip to Ada for a showdown with national power Ohio Northern. The contest is slated to start at 7 p.m.