The Bluffton University volleyball team is ready to build on a solid 2022 campaign that saw the Beavers go 16-11 and get back into the Heartland Conference tournament after a one-year hiatus snapped Bluffton's string of 13 straight berths. The Beavers won four straight HCAC tournament titles from 2013 through 2016 after their first HCAC championship in 2009 when Bluffton went 27-6 with an 8-0 mark in the conference.

Head Coach Steve Yarnell is heading into year 19 at the helm, having 11 appearances in the conference semi-finals and five HCAC tournament titles on his resume. He has mentored two AVCA All-Americans, two Academic All-Americans and five Heartland Conference Players of the Year while earning HCAC Coach of the Year awards in 2009 and 2014!

Bluffton will have big shoes to fill with three of its top point-scorers gone to graduation. Kaylie Campbell, Alysha Like and Maddie White hammered home over 500 kills and White added nearly 600 assists for the Beavers in 2022. Courtney Weekley, who picked up over 200 digs, was also a mainstay in the back the last four years.

All is not lost, however, as leading attacker Jenna Woods (DeGraff/Riverside) smashed 235 kills and stuffed the opposition with 41 blocks during her freshman campaign! She hit at an impressive .198 clip last season. Also back is Chloei Barnett (Wapakoneta) who rammed home 183 kills as a sophomore. Senior Kelly Armentrout (Lima/Shawnee) returns for her senior campaign after a back injury kept her off the court in 2022.

Emma Organ (Lambertville, MI/St. Ursula Academy) was a jack of all trades for Bluffton as a freshman. She lead the Beavers with 386 digs and came in third with 34 aces. Prior to taking over as the libero, Organ saw time up front, smacking 43 kills while adding 35 assists. Sophomore Paige Massie (Alvada/Arcadia) tallied 55 kills in 2022 and then went on to make her mark with the track and field team in the spring. Bluffton will also welcome 10 newcomers when the Beavers hit the court this fall.

Bluffton opens the season with four matches at Cedar Point on September 1-2 before welcoming Kenyon College for the home lidlifter on Wednesday, Sept. 6. The Sommer Center Spiketacular, slated for September 15-16, will see the Beavers match up with Capital, Olivet, Kalamazoo and Geneva. Bluffton heads to Anderson for the HCAC opener on Wednesday, Oct. 4, and rival Defiance College makes the short trip to Bluffton four weeks later before the regular season wraps up with a trip to Rose-Hulman on November 4.

-BEAVERS-