Sept. 16, 2008
ADA, Ohio - The Bluffton University volleyball team ran into a buzzsaw when the Beavers made the short trip to Ohio Northern on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008. The Polar Bears lived up to their No. 13 national ranking, sweeping Bluffton in three sets while hitting at a phenomenal .347 clip as a team. Ohio Northern smoked 41 kills with only six errors on 101 total attacks.
ONU rolled off six straight points to open the match as the Beavers racked up four quick hitting errors. Bluffton closed the gap to three points, 12-9, following a JENNA ESHLEMAN (Landisville, Penn./Hempfield) kill, but Northern outscored the Beavers 13-3 to take the first set by a 25-12 count.
The Polar Bears traded one point for two early in the second set building a 10-5 advantage before freshmen CHRISTIANA SINDELAR (Napoleon/Napoleon) and Eshleman notched back-to-back kills to cut the deficit to three points. Five straight KASEY ROESER serves, including a pair of aces, slowed the Beavers and allowed the home team to open up an eight-point spread. ONU continued to take care of business at the net, finishing off set two with a 25-14 win.
Although Ohio Northern bolted to n 8-2 lead to start the third set, Bluffton responded with the strong serving of sophomore CRYSTAL AUGSBURGER (Bowling Green/Bowling Green) and BRITTANY ROTH (Findlay/Findlay) to knot the set at 11. Roeser and ABBY SCHALLER combined to serve 10 times during the next 12 points as the Polar Bears put the match on ice with a 21-14 lead in the clincher. LIZ SCHNELLE closed out the night with consecutive serves for a 25-15 victory.
Sindelar had one of her best matches as a Beaver, pounding nine kills with only two errors for a .389 hitting percentage. Eshleman tallied seven spikes for the Beavers. Sophomore setter SHAUNA ROWLAND (Bucyrus/Wynford) finished with a team-high 19 assists and she also picked up 13 digs. Leading the way defensively was junior libero Brittany Roth.
Bluffton returns home to Founders Hall for the first conference showdown of the 2008 campaign when the Beavers welcome Manchester College on Wednesday, Sept. 24. The contest is slated to start at 7 p.m.