Oct. 19, 2013

HANOVER, Ind. - The Beaver volleyball team had Bluffton's final crack at Hanover College on a day in which the Panthers had already dispatched the football, men's soccer and women's soccer teams. Despite three sets that all went 25-23, the Beavers fell just short as Hanover capped a 4-0 Homecoming afternoon at Bluffton's expense on Saturday, Oct. 19. It was a crucial loss for Bluffton which dropped to 10-15 overall and 2-3 in the Heartland Conference. The Panthers improved to 13-12 on the season and more importantly 3-2 in the HCAC.

Bluffton responded to Hanover's 25-23 opening-set victory with a 25-21 win to even the match thanks to 10 Panther hitting errors. The home team rebounded with back-to-back two-point victories to claim the match and move over .500 in conference play as well.

Continuing her recent trend of blistering the opposition, sophomore Kendra Parmenter (Grove City) rammed home a match-high 17 spikes with just four errors while hitting .333 for the night. It was her third consecutive match with at least 15 kills. Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) and Adrienne Shepard (Arlington) pounded 11 and eight kills, respectively.

Sophomore Brooke Ruffer (Stryker) handed out a match-best 31 assists and also hit .500 with four kills and six digs. Pacing the visitors with 12 digs was senior Hailey Phillips (Malinta/Patrick Henry) who also fired three aces for the Beavers. Lindsay Krohn (Marysville, Ind./New Washington) and Marissa Krier (Massillon/Central Christian) chipped in with nine and seven pickups, respectively.

The Beavers will now regroup before heading to North Manchester, Ind., on Wednesday night for a critical Heartland Conference matchup with the Manchester University Spartans. The Oct. 23 clash is slated for 7 p.m.

-BEAVERS-