October 28, 2017
By: Lynsey Trusty, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University volleyball team celebrated Senior Day with sweeps of Earlham College and Illinois Tech. The Beavers honored all-time digs leader Sydney Mohler (Lima/Central Catholic), Becca Tourney (Columbia City, Ind.), Lauren Miller (Dayton/Miamisburg) and Mary Jo Bash (Carey) prior to the final Heartland Conference match of the season against the Quakers. Bluffton improved to 18-10 overall and 7-2 in the Heartland Conference with the three-set victories.
Bluffton found itself down 13-6 in the first set against Earlham prompting Coach Yarnell to burn his second timeout. The Beavers responded, out-pointing the visitors 19-6 for what looked like a run-of-the-mill 25-19 victory. A pair of 25-20 wins completed the sweep as Bluffton secured a tie for second place and #4 seed in the upcoming HCAC tournament.
Junior Bethany Martini (Pickerington/North) led the victors with 15 kills on 51 swings. Torching the Quakers was junior court general Erin Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) who knocked down eight kills without an error on just 11 attempts for an astronomical .727 hitting percentage to go along with her 33 assists. Freshman Remi Bower (Hamler/Patrick Henry) and sophomore Carly Lester (Chesapeake) were both errorless, finishing with eight and three kills, respectively.
Junior Abby Rorhbach (New Knoxville) led the back line with 14 digs, while senior libero Sydney Mohler checked in with a dozen. Juniors Courtney Zimpfer (Jackson Center) and Erin Weisgarber both added 11 as Weisgarber was just two kills shy of a triple-double! Jessie Gibson (Warsaw River View) was a menace at the net with two solo blocks and two block assists. Becca Tourney led the home team with three aces.
Martini was back in double figures against Illinois Tech, tallying 12 kills and eight digs for the home team. Sarah Heydinger (Tiro/Buckeye Central) put down 10 spikes, while Weisgarber finished with five against no errors for the second time of the afternoon. She handed out 29 assists and picked up a team-high 13 digs.
Mohler just missed double digits with nine digs. Fellow seniors Mary Jo Bash and Lauren Miller combined for seven digs and five assists as the 2018 graduates took center stage in the regular-season finale! Becca Tourney notched three kills, two block assists and two digs.
By virtue of a series of tie breakers that came down to conference points, Rose-Hulman (7-2 HCAC) claimed the #2 seed and first round bye. Transylvania (7-2 HCAC) took the #3 seed and Bluffton (7-2 HCAC) earned the #4 seed. The Beavers will host rival Defiance (5-4 HCAC) on Wednesday, Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. for the right to play regular-season champion Hanover College (9-0 HCAC) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 4. The Panthers have won that title three straight years, going 27-0 in conference play during that time frame. Come out to the Sommer Center on Wednesday night and cheer on your Beavers!.
-BEAVERS-