The Bluffton University volleyball team returns nearly 90 percent of its offense from a squad that advanced to the Heartland Conference tournament for the 12th straight season. Although the Beavers missed out on a trip to the semi-finals for the first time in seven years, Bluffton returns weapons at each level in 2020. Only four years removed from Bluffton's string of four straight HCAC tournament championship runs, the Beavers have the talent and experience to go toe-to-toe with the conference heavyweights this season.
Head Coach Steve Yarnell is heading into year 16 at the helm, having 10 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 four Heartland Conference Players of the Year while earning HCAC Coach of the Year awards in 2009 and 2014!
Bluffton will be without the services of Carley Lester, Katie Kline, Kaylie Marshall and Danielle Ray who graduated in May. Lester played in 301 matches during her four years and her career-high 151 kills as a senior placed her third on the team.
Back for her senior year is First Team All-HCAC honoree Remi Bower (Deshler/Patrick Henry). Bower led the Heartland Conference with 419 kills and her 3.81 kills per set were third in the HCAC. Making her mark on the record books, Bower is currently 2nd all-time with 3.81 kills per set this season, while her 419 kills are 10th all time. She is also 4th on the career list with 2.92 kills per set heading into her senior campaign. Bower needs just 107 kills to eclipse 1,000 for her career.
Sarah Heydinger (Tiro/Buckeye Valley), another senior who has been a mainstay in Bluffton's front line the past three seasons, was named Honorable Mention All-HCAC in 2019 after blasting away with a career-best best 262 kills. Her 25 blocks pushed Heydinger to 100 for her career.
Brooke Kleman (Glandorf/Ottawa-Glandorf), who was named to the All-Freshman Team in 2018, earned honorable mention recognition following her sophomore season. She finished 6th in the conference with 479 digs, giving her 1,012 following two seasons as the Beaver libero. Kleman is currently 4th all-time on the career list with 4.73 digs per set. The back row specialist fired a team-best 36 aces and added 78 assists as a sophomore.
Junior Maddie White (Ashland) took over as the primary setter midway through the 2019 campaign and the move paid immediate dividends as she helped push the Beavers into the conference tournament with a team-high 511 assists. Seniors Jessica Lovell (Grove City) and Chelsey Taylor (Hicksville) have been swiss army knives during their time at Bluffton. Lovell had 63 kills as a sophomore and 67 digs as a junior, while Taylor fired a career-best 28 aces last season.
Sophomore Kaylie Campbell (Camden/Preble Shawnee) was a force at the net with a team-high 62 blocks in 2019 and she added 84 kills. Junior Cassidy Posey (Paulding) tallied 45 kills and 27 blocks after coming over from rival Defiance following her freshman campaign. Sophomore Elle Price (Findlay) handed out 278 assists and picked up 85 digs, while Noel Ufferman (Marysville/Fairbanks) showed her versatility with 98 assists, 36 kills, 49 digs and 29 kills. Junior Kayla Ferguson (Pandora/Pandora-Gilboa) gives Bluffton depth up front, while sophomore Courtney Weekley (Butler/Clear Fork) returns with her 198 digs which was the third-highest total last season.
Bluffton University is excited to announce its Heartland Conference volleyball schedule for the 2020-21 school year! The conference slate kicks off when Earlham comes to town on Friday, January 22. Although the conference portion of the schedule has been moved to the spring due to COVID-19, the Beavers will host Trine on Tuesday, Oct. 13. Bluffton welcomes Manchester for a non-conference matchup with the Spartans on Saturday, Oct. 17, and returns the favor with a trip to North Manchester on Thursday, Oct. 22, before welcoming Adrian to the Sommer Center on Saturday, Oct. 24.
-BEAVERS-