Oct. 23, 2013
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Bluffton University volleyball team kept alive its hopes for a berth in the upcoming Heartland Conference tournament with a convincing sweep of Manchester University on Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013. The Beavers evened their mark in the HCAC at 3-3 while improving to 11-15 overall. Manchester dipped to 6-17 on the season, including 1-6 in the conference.
Despite digging a 10-2 hole to open the first set, the Beavers roared back with a couple five-point rallies to overtake the Spartans 20-19 en route to the 25-21 victory in the lidlifter. Setters Sara Roth (Findlay/Van Buren) and Brooke Ruffer (Stryker) sparked the comeback with their hot serving while sophomore middle Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) powered the visitors with six kills during the miraculous comeback.
The Beavers led just 18-17 in set two, but a 7-2 run late gave Bluffton a 25-19 win and 2-0 advantage in the match. The visitors bolted out to a 8-1 lead in the third set, however, the Beavers still needed a four-point run at 16-16 to finish off the Spartans as Bluffton claimed the match with a 25-21 victory in the finale.
Sophomore spiker Kendra Parmenter continued her assault on the opposition with a match-high 15 kills, her fourth straight match with at least that many putaways. Brown was also in double figures with 11 kills on just 16 swings for a .500 hitting percentage. Freshmen Adrienne Shepard (Arlington) and MacKenzie McFarlin (Ashland) both chipped in with six kills for the victors.
Ruffer dished out 28 assists, picked up five digs and was in on four blocks. For good measure, the sophomore put down three kills with no errors on nine total attacks. Senior Hailey Phillips (Malinta/Patrick Henry) and freshman Marissa Krier (Massillon/Central Christian) topped the Beavers with 16 and 10 digs, respectively. Roth fired a pair of aces and Brown added three block assists.
Bluffton will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday, Oct. 26, when the Beavers host Earlham and Trine for a tri-match in the Sommer Center. The HCAC matchup with the Quakers is slated for 1 p.m. Come inside out of the cold this Saturday and support the Beavers as they honor Lindsay Krohn (Marysville, Ind./New Washington) and Hailey Phillips following four outstanding years at Bluffton.
-BEAVERS-