Volleyball: Bluffton falls to Rose-Hulman in Heartland Conference finals

By Meghan Mohr, sports information assistant

Stats: http://www.bluffton.edu/sports/volleyball/2011/11-06-vb.htm

The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology continued its impressive tournament run with a 3-0 victory over Bluffton University on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011.

It marked the Engineers first HCAC title and berth in the upcoming NCAA Regionals. Bluffton ended its season 22-11 overall as RHIT knocked off its third HCAC co-champion in six days. Rose improved to 24-8 and the Engineers will find out who and when they play on Monday morning when the tournament field is announced.

The Beaver attack was grounded as trouble in the passing department led to struggles at the net. Nicole Wood (Tiffin/Hopewell-Loudon) and Courtney Zimmerman (Leesburg/Fairfield) tallied four kills apiece while fellow senior Jenna Eshleman (Landisville, Penn./Hempfield) added three kills for the Beavers. For their efforts over the weekend, Eshleman and Zimmerman were both named to the All-Tournament Team.

Setting up the Beaver offense was sophomore Kyleigh Whitsel (Sheffield Lake/Brookside) with 15 assists. Whitsel also added 13 digs for Bluffton. Eshleman dug up 14 balls for the Beavers while sophomore Lindsay Krohn (Marysville, Ind./New Washington) added 12 more digs. Junior libero Heather Schierer (Crescent Springs, Ky./St. Henry) picked up seven digs in the finals.