October 26, 2016
By: Samantha Granger, sports information assistant
BLUFFTON, Ohio - Wednesday night's Heartland Conference matchup brought Mount St. Joseph to the Sommer Center for a mid-week showdown between the Lions and the Bluffton University volleyball team. The Beavers improved to 21-7 overall and 8-0 in the HCAC after downing the Lions (11-14, 2-7 HCAC) in three quick sets.
After a back-and-forth first set, the Beavers cruised to a victory behind an efficient attack. As a team, Bluffton finished the match with an .292 attacking percentage, compared to just .091 for the Lions.
The Beavers were led offensively by senior captains MACKENZIE MCFARLIN (Ashland) with 13 kills (.367) and LAUREN WEISGARBER (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) with 11 kills (.360). Bethany Martini (Pickerington/North) added nine kills (.273) for the victors.
Abby Rohrbach (New Knoxville) and BECCA TOURNEY (Columbia City) fired three and two aces, respectively, from the service line while ERIN WEISGARBER (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) handed out a match-high 38 assists. SYDNEY MOHLER (Lima/Central Catholic) led the Beaver defense with 12 digs while Tourney and Courtney Zimpfer (Jackson Center) both chipped in 10 pickups. Tourney and Jessie Gibson (Warsaw/River View) were in on four and three blocks, respectively. Lauren Weisgarber stuffed MSJ with two solo blocks and one block assist.
Bluffton will be home on Saturday, Oct. 29, to face Hanover College in the Heartland Conference finale for the Beavers. Both teams are undefeated in the HCAC and to the victor will go the spoils, which just happens to be the right to host the Heartland Conference tournament on November 5--6! Come out and support your Beavers as they honor seniors MacKenzie McFarlin and Lauren Weisgarber at 3 p.m!
-BEAVERS-
