Heidelberg Finishes Action At Centre Tournament 3-1

The Heidelberg College volleyball team posted a 3-1 record at the Centre College Tournament over the weekend. The Berg opened action on Saturday with a 3-1 (30-27, 24-30, 27-30, 21-30) setback to No. 8 Wisconsin-Oshkosh, but bounced back to win its final three matches, topping Ruse-Hulman Institute 3-0 (30-21, 30-23, 30-26), Oglethorpe 3-0 (30-12, 30-22, 30-17) and Centre 3-1 (27-30, 30-18, 30-17, 30-13). Senior libero Megan Kempf (Olmsted Twp., Ohio / St. Joseph’s) earned a nod on the All-Tournament Team after tallying 76 digs and six service aces for the two-day tournament.

The three victories increases the Berg's overall record to 22-14 on the season, which is the third most victories in a single-season in the history of the program. The 22 wins also are the most victories in a season under seventh-year head coach Jason Miller. Miller’s previous high was 21 victories during the 2004 campaign.

Junior Kristy Bollenbacher (Huron, Ohio / Huron) backed Kempf with 31 digs and also contributed six service aces for the Berg. Fellow classmate Tracy Sutter (Miamisburg, Ohio / Miamisburg) also recorded 31 digs on the weekend.

Leading the offense was Laurie Patrick (Bellevue, Ohio / Bellevue) with 46 kills on 85 attempts and 12 errors for a .400 attack percentage. Backing Patrick was sophomore Emily Hurlburt (St. Mary’s, Ohio / Memorial) and Breena McCool (Tiffin, Ohio / Old Fort) with 32 and 31 kills, respectively. Controlling the offense was freshman setter Morgan Magers (Green Springs, Ohio / Old Fort), dishing out 168 assists. For the season Magers has now accumulated 1,360 assists, which sets a new single-season record at the Berg. The previous record was 1,314 set by Tannah Haidet in 2004.

Heidelberg returns to action Tuesday, Oct. 31 at Ohio Northern University. The Berg faces the Polar Bears in an opening round match of the 2006 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. ONU enters the tournament as the number one seed, while the Berg is the eighth seed.