November 10, 2016
BLUFFTON, Ohio - For just the fourth time in school history, the Bluffton University volleyball team placed a member of its squad on the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region Team. Senior Lauren Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) put together a season to remember, becoming the second Bluffton middle hitter in two years to be named First Team All-Great Lakes Region. Jenny Brown was the first Beaver since 1997 to earn that acclaim a season ago when she followed in the footsteps of Jennifer McDaniel and Sara Lehman Wakefield who were named AVCA All-Region in 1996 and 1997, respectively.
A four-year starter for the Beavers, Weisgarber sliced and diced Bluffton's Heartland Conference opponents on the way to her first All-HCAC post-season recognition. The senior middle saved the best for last, leading the HCAC with a blistering .385 hitting percentage in conference contests. She ranks fourth in the conference with 3.27 kills per set, while her 74 blocks are sixth in the HCAC.
Weisgarber earned her first Heartland Conference Player of the Week honor after hitting .439 with 20 kills in a pair of victories over Earlham and Denison. She is 12th on Bluffton's all-time list with 302 career blocks. Her .338 hitting percentage this season is second all-time to Jenny Brown's .343 a season ago and her .244 career hitting percentage is sixth all-time. Weisgarber's 932 career kills are 17th on Bluffton's all-time list.
Playing alongside her sister, sophomore setter Erin Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley), the two have taken advantage of their family connection. Erin's laser-quick sets to Lauren were crucial in Bluffton's drive for their fourth consecutive HCAC Tournament title. Lauren rammed home a career-high 19 winners in the five-set slugfest with Rose-Hulman in the semifinals before demolishing that mark with 24 kills and a red-hot .442 hitting percentage in the title clash with Hanover! She earned tournament MVP honors for those two performances and then followed that up by being named First Team All-Heartland Conference for the first time in her career.
Weisgarber and fellow senior captain MacKenzie McFarlin (Ashland) became the first volleyball players in Bluffton University history to finish their HCAC tournament careers with an unblemished record when the Beavers knocked Hanover out of the HCAC Tournament for the fourth straight season on Saturday. They are 9-0 over the past four years with all of those victories on the road!
For the fourth consecutive season, Coach Yarnell and the Beavers will play in the NCAA Regionals following their Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship win at host and #1 seed Hanover. Bluffton traveled nearly 350 miles to #11 and top-seeded Wisconsin-Whitewater for a date with #17 Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. The contest is slated for 4 p.m. Ohio time, following the Washington University vs. Heidelberg contest.
This will be Bluffton's eighth appearance in the NCAA Tournament with five coming in the last eight years. Bluffton went three times between 1994 and 1997 before Coach Yarnell made his first trip in 2009 when the Beavers (27-6 overall) traveled to Hope College for a first-round matchup with Ohio Northern after rolling through the HCAC with a perfect 8-0 mark.
Continue to check the Bluffton University Volleyball Schedule Page and Twitter for updates.
-BEAVERS-