By: Brittany Roth, sports information assistant
Elmhurst stats I Chicago stats
LISLE, Ill. - The Bluffton University volleyball team headed west to Illinois to wrap up its regular season at the Benedictine University Eagle Classic on Friday, Oct. 31. Battling two of the top teams in the country, Bluffton came up just short to #16 Elmhurst (25-17, 28-26, 25-22) before a three-set loss to Chicago (25-19, 25-22, 25-12). The Beavers fell to 20-10 on the season, while Elmhurst improved to 27-6 and Chicago upped its season mark to 22-11.
Elmhurst went up 13-4 in the lidlifter en route to a 25-17 victory over the Beavers. Set two was hotly-contested from the outset with 14 tie scores and 10 lead changes. Bluffton went up 24-23 and 26-25, but the Blue Jays showed their mettle with a 28-26 victory. The clincher was nearly a carbon copy of set two with the score still knotted at 21-21 before Elmhurst rolled off four of the final five points for a 25-22 win.
Junior Kendra Parmenter (Grove City) ripped 10 winners to lead the Bluffton offense, hitting .292 with just three errors. Middle hitters Jenny Brown (St. Marys/Memorial) and Lauren Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) added eight and six kills, respectively, while Mackenzie McFarlin (Ashland) also drove home eight spikes.
Sara Roth (Findlay/Van Buren) doled out 33 assists, while she and freshman Sydney Mohler (Lima/Central Catholic) both picked up 10 digs for the Beavers. Becca Tourney (Columbia City, Ind.) fired a pair of service aces.
Bluffton continued to show it was up to the challenge in the first two sets against Chicago. After digging a 5-0 hole in the opening set, the Beavers battled back to knot the score at 9-9 following a Sara Roth ace. It was still tied at 14-14 before Chicago pulled away for the 25-19 win. After making it 23-22 in the second set, back-to-back Chicago kills added up a to a 2-0 lead. The Maroons went up 10-5 in the third set and cruised to a 25-12 victory thanks to nine straight points to end the match.
Parmenter and McFarlin topped the Bluffton hitters with 14 and nine kills, respectively. Roth handed out 28 assists and added 11 digs, while McFarlin chipped in with a team-high 12 pickups.
The Beavers jump back into the fire again on Saturday, Nov. 1, when they meet #17 Carthage at 1 p.m. before wrapping up their weekend with host Benedictine at 5 p.m.
-BEAVERS-
