All-HCAC release http://www.bluffton.edu/athletics/volleyball/2013/allhcac.pdf
A trio of Bluffton sophomores were named First Team All-Heartland Conference for their work at the net during the 2013 volleyball season. Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) collected her second straight First Team All-HCAC award thanks to a dominating effort for the HCAC tournament champions. Setter Brooke Ruffer (Stryker) also picked up her second piece of All-HCAC hardware after earning second team recognition with the women's basketball team in 2012-13. A superb second half of the season propelled Kendra Parmenter (Grove City) to her first All-HCAC honor. The sophomore outside hitter leads Bluffton with 373 kills as the Beavers prepare to play Wittenberg in the NCAA Regional Tournament.
Jenny Brown picked right up where she left off last season, proving to be one of the top middle hitters in the Heartland Conference. For the second straight year, Brown has eclipsed 300 kills while hitting at a torrid .253 clip which is ninth-best in the conference. Her 117 blocks (.90 BPS) put her second in the HCAC. The two-time first team selection also chipped in with 33 digs, four service aces and five assists while being the constant in Coach Yarnell's winning equation.
Showing that she is one of the most talented and versatile female athletes in the Heartland Conference, Brooke Ruffer handled most of the setting duties this season before late-season personnel changes allowed her to blast away as a hitter on the right side. Ruffer saved her best for the Heartland Conference Tournament where she was magnificent, chiming in with consecutive triple-doubles in the semifinal and championship matches. Her 16 kills against #2 seeded Transylvania established a new career-high in the process. She is nearing 1,000 assists with 953 going to Calvin. Ruffer is fifth for the Beavers with 166 kills on a solid .183 hitting percentage. Her 50 service aces place Ruffer second on the team and her 270 digs are third-most for Bluffton. In addition, Ruffer has been in on 38 blocks at the net.
Double-digit kills by Parmenter in 11 of Bluffton's last 14 matches, including a career-high 24 putdowns in the HCAC title match with Hanover assured the Beavers of a third member on the All-Heartland Conference First Team. Parmenter was phenomenal down the stretch, going for 12 or more kills 10 times during the final half of the season, including all three HCAC tournament matches. She leads the Beavers with 373 kills while hitting .204 for the season, nearly 10 points higher than she did as a freshman. Parmenter is second for Bluffton with 67 blocks and she also picked up 92 digs this year. Her 413.5 points tops Bluffton for the second consecutive season. Her 2013 accolades include being an all-tournament selection at the HCAC/OAC Crossover, a Player of the Week in the HCAC and the Heartland Conference Tournament MVP.
Adrienne Shepard (Arlington) was named to the HCAC All-Freshman Team after a solid first season with the Beavers. She has 209 kills on 631 total attacks for a .174 hitting percentage. Shepard also stuffed the opposition with 50 blocks while adding 37 digs this year.
In conjunction with the All-HCAC selections, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference also announced the All-HCAC Sportsmanship Team for the fall of 2013. Junior Ashley Litwiller (Hopedale, Ill./Olympia) was selected to the All-Sportsmanship Team from Bluffton. This award has been developed as part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-HCAC Sportsmanship team are selected by the coaches and their teammates as individuals who demonstrate the ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field/court of competition.
Bluffton's sixth straight trip to the Heartland Conference tournament culminated in its second HCAC tournament title despite entering the week as the #6 seed. Following an improbable Heartland Conference tournament run that saw the Beavers rally from 2-0 deficits to #3 seed Mount St. Joseph and #2 seed Transylvania, the Bluffton University volleyball team will kick off the NCAA Division III Championship on Thursday, Nov. 14, when they travel to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., for a first-round match in the NCAA Regional against Wittenberg University. Full statistics and information on the 2013 volleyball season are available online at www.blufftonbeavers.com/volleyball .
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