 |  |
Bluffton Rallies for First Volleyball Tournament Title
BLUFFTON, OH - The Bluffton University volleyball team rallied to knock off the College of Mount St. Joseph, 22-25, 13-25, 26-24, 25-18, 15-12, on November 8 to claim its first Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament title. The top-seeded and tournament host Beavers (27-5) will advance to the NCAA Division III tournament by virtue of claiming the conference's automatic bid.
Against the Lions, sophomore Jenna Eshleman (Landisville, Penn./Hempfield) led the way with 14 kills, 10 digs, and two block assists.
Sophomore Nicole Wood (Tiffin, Ohio/Hopewell-Loudon) added 14 kills and junior Shauna Rowland (Bucyrus, Ohio/Wynford) contributed 39 assists in the conference championship match.
Bluffton advanced to Sunday's championship match by defeating No. 4 seed Defiance College in the semifinals, 3-1.
Eshleman was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after a strong weekend performance. Joining her on the all-tournament team from the Beavers was Shauna Rowland and Nicole Wood. The remaining members of the all-tournament team consisted of Mount St. Joseph's Jamie Grauvogel (Cleves, Ohio/Harrison) and Jess Gadberry (Reading, Ohio/H.S.), Anderson's Stephanie Weinman (Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central), and Defiance's Sara Porter (Toledo, Ohio/Start).
The Beavers will take part in regional play on Nov. 12-14. Bluffton will find out their site and opponent Monday morning when the NCAA releases their brackets. The finals will be held Nov. 19-21 at John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio.
