October 21, 2015
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Bluffton University volleyball team bounced back following losses to four ranked opponents last weekend, taking down Manchester University in impressive fashion with a dominating three-set sweep of the Spartans on Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015. The Beavers improved to 15-10 overall and a perfect 6-0 in the Heartland Conference, while Manchester dipped to 8-15 and 3-5 in the HCAC.
With Bluffton clinging to an 8-7 lead in the opening set, Sydney Mohler (Lima/Central Catholic) took over at the service line and pushed Bluffton's lead to 14-8 before three straight Erin Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) serves made the score 17-8. Kills by Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) and Kendra Parmenter (Grove City) finished off the set as the Beavers rolled to a 25-15 rout.
Mohler and Weisgarber again did their damage at the line in set two, propelling Bluffton to a 9-1 spread before the Spartans called their first timeout. Six points was as close as the home team could get before Becca Tourney (Columbia City, Ind.) iced the cake with four straight serves. Back-to-back MacKenzie McFralin (Ashland) aces made it 2-0 following a 25-10 demolition of the Spartans.
Manchester went up 2-0 in the third set before four Mohler serves turned it around at 4-2. The visitors were content to trade one Spartan point for two Beaver scores for much of set three as Bluffton capped off the night with a 25-17 victory for the convincing sweep of a solid Manchester squad.
Bluffton was paced by freshman Erin Weisgarber with 29 assists and six kills. Junior MacKenzie McFarlin led the Beavers with 12 kills and hit for .370 while senior Jenny Brown chipped in 11 kills and hit .348 on the match. Lauren Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) added six kills in and hit for an outstanding .500 on just 10 total attacks.
Brown was a wall at the net, totaling three solo blocks and five block assists against the Spartans, equaling her career best of eight total stuffs. Sydney Mohler picked up 10 digs, while Abby Rohrbach (New Knoxville) finished with seven digs.
The stage is now set for Saturday afternoon at Hanover College where the Beavers will meet the Panthers. Bluffton is a perfect 6-0 in the conference, while Hanover swept rival Franklin tonight in improving to 7-0 in the HCAC. Saturday's winner will have the inside track to hosting the HCAC Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 7 and Sunday, Nov. 8.
-BEAVERS-
