September 27, 2009
By: Erin Neal, sports information assistant

 

CINCINNATI, Ohio - In day two at the Mount St. Joseph tournament, the Beavers fell to two OAC competitors, Ohio Northern University, 3-1 (19-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-18) and Marietta College, 3-0 (27-25, 25-19, 26-24). With the two losses, the Beavers finished up 2-2 on the weekend and now stand at 10-5 overall.

 

The spikers found themselves in a re-match of last week's battle with the Polar Bears for the first contest of the day. After a familiar first set victory, the Beavers went on to stay neck and neck with the Polar Bears before dropping sets two, three and four by similar scores. Leading the Beaver offense was the outside hitter duo of JENNA ESHLEMAN (Landisville, Penn./Hempfield), with 15 kills, and NICOLE WOOD (Tiffin/Hopewell-Loudon), with 11. Junior SHAUNA ROWLAND (Bucyrus/Wynford) directed the offense by dishing out 34 assists.

 

Senior BRITTANY ROTH (Findlay/Findlay) anchored defensive efforts with her 28 digs, followed by Eshleman with 14. COURTNEY ZIMMERMAN (Leesburg/Fairfield) was also a force at the net with five block assists and one solo block.

 

In their second match of the day, the Beavers fell to Marietta despite an impressive 21 kills in the first set alone. Against the Pioneers, Zimmerman led with 12 kills, followed closely by Wood and Eshleman with 10 kills each. Rowland once again proved to be a staple for Bluffton with 35 assists. Roth paced the defense with 22 digs, while Eshleman added nine. KAYLA PICKERING (Jamestown/Greenview) chipped in six and Rowland finished with five. Rowland and Pickering also rifled two service aces apiece in the effort against the Pioneers.

 

The Beavers return to action in Founders Hall this Wednesday night, September 30, when they take on the Quakers of Wilmington College in non-conference action. Match time is slated to 7 p.m. The Beavers then open up HCAC play when they host rival Mount St. Joseph at home on Friday, October 2, at 7 p.m and Hanover College the following day, Saturday, at 1 p.m.