Heidelberg Finishes 2-0 In Tri-Match In Sieberling Gymnasium

The Heidelberg College volleyball team topped visiting Wilmington College 3-0 (30-16, 30-13, 30-21) and Case Western Reserve University 3-0 (30-23, 30-22, 30-15) today in a tri-match at Sieberling Gymnasium on the campus of Heidelberg. The two wins increases Heidelberg's unbeaten streak on its home court to five-matches dating back to the 2005 season. Overall Heidelberg boosts an overall record of 16-7 and a 2-4 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

In the win over Wilmington, Heidelberg jumped out to a 13-4 lead in game one following a service ace by Kristy Bollenbacher (Huron, Ohio / Huron) and never looked back in the 30-16 win. Once again the Berg controlled the momentum early in game two. Heidelberg rallied around the serving of freshman Morgan Magers (Green Springs, Ohio / Old Fort) to build a 10-1 lead on the way to a 30-13 victory. Finally, game three saw Wilmington and Heidelberg battling back and forth early on until a kill by Katie Jones (Akron, Ohio / Green) ignited seven-straight points for the Berg and pushed the team to a game three win and an OAC victory.

Audra Vucic (Lancaster, Ohio / Fisher Catholic) led the way in the win over Wilmington with 12 kills. Magers dished out 37 assists and senior libero Megan Kempf (Olmsted Twp., Ohio / St. Joseph’s) led the Berg defense with 21 digs.

Heidelberg was slow out of the gates in game one against Case Western Reserve as the Spartans jumped out to an 11-1 lead. The Berg battled back behind strong play from Laurie Patrick (Bellevue, Ohio / Bellevue). Patrick turned away a Spartan attack to knot the score at 14-14 and on the ensuing point connected with Magers for a kill to give the Berg the lead that it would never relinquish. Game two saw the Spartans jump out of the gate strong, but midway through the game Heidelberg began to take advantage of some Spartan miscues. The Berg took a 13-12 lead following a Spartan attack error and extended its lead following two Bollenbacher service aces and another Spartan error. In game three, Heidelberg stormed ahead 13-2 and cruised to a 30-15 victory. Helping in the victory was a stretch of four-straight Bollenbacher service aces.

Patrick and Emily Hurlburt (St. Mary’s, Ohio / Memorial) each tallied 11 kills to lead the Berg in the win over the Spartans. Bollenbacher totaled seven service aces to help with the scoring. Kempf once again led the defense with 19 digs followed by 13 courtesy of Bollenbacher. Hurlburt and Patrick recorded six and five kills, respectively.

"We had a tough stretch over the last few weeks, but it was nice to come in and earn two victories on our home court," said seventh-year head coach Jason Miller. "We played well and now we need to build on this momentum through the rest of the season."

Heidelberg returns to action at John Carroll, Oct. 10 beginning at 7:00 p.m.