By Tim Stried, SID

September 20, 1999

The Bluffton News

The Witmarsum

Bouncing back from two losses on the opening day of the Heidelberg College Invitational last weekend, the Bluffton College volleyball team regrouped to beat Urbana and Olivet to earn a third place finish in the tournament.

"We were tense and weren't playing together very well," said senior Dena Eichelberger in discussing the team's slow start on Friday. A pair of three-game sweeps on Saturday, though, proved that the Beavers had recovered from their slump and were back to their normal selves. "We were more relaxed and had more fun than we did on Friday," continued Eichelberger.

In Friday's opening match, BC won the first two games 15-8, 15-2 before dropping three straight games 2-15, 13-15, 11-15 to suffer the defeat. Sophomore Mandy Pequignot (DeGraff/Indian Lake) led the Beavers with 15 kills in the match, while Eichelberger totaled 24 digs and four service aces. Senior Sheryl Cunningham (Edon) had four blocks and sophomore Erica Jellison (Van Wert/Crestview) had 25 assists.

In the nightcap BC fell to the hosting Heidelberg squad 13-15, 4-15, 7-15. Pequignot and junior Betsy Hook (Wellington) both recorded seven kills apiece, while Eichelberger and junior Alison Harrer (New Washington/Buckeye Central) each had 10 digs. Hook also recorded five blocks while senior Shannon Hedrick (Rootstown/Southeast) had 11 assists.

Saturday started off with a BC victory over Urbana 15-10, 15-3, 15-1 as junior Beth Weidus (Cleveland/Lutheran West) led the attack with 10 kills. Sophomore Lisa Rathburn (Mansfield/St. Peter) teamed up with Pequignot and sophomore Jaime Frisk with seven digs, while Cunningham had six blocks and Jellison notched four service aces and 15 assists.

BC evened their record in the tournament at 2-2 with a three game sweep of Olivet 15-2, 15-6, 15-4 to close out the invitational. Cunningham led the Beavers with 12 kills while Weidus had nine digs, Hook had five blocks and Jellison put up 23 assists.

BC will be an action again this weekend at the Ohio Wesleyan University Tournament on Friday and Saturday. Eichelberger and her teammates know what they need to do to start off the tournament strong. "We just shouldn't put so much pressure on ourselves," said the fourth-year starter. "We have a lot to live up to considering past seasons, and we need to forget that and play within ourselves. We play our best when we just play our game and have fun."