TIFFIN, Ohio—The No. 8 Heidelberg University volleyball team, winners of 11 consecutive matches, will travel to New Concord, Ohio on Sunday, Oct. 9 to face Muskingum University in an Ohio Athletic Conference match on Performance Court at noon. The Berg will follow that match with a non-conference tilt against Case Western Reserve University at 2 p.m.
Heidelberg will enter the day sporting a 19-2 overall and 3-0 OAC record following its sweep of non-conference foe Bluffton University on Tuesday. Against the Beavers, senior second-team All-OAC outside hitter Venessa Haase (Miamisburg) recorded her fourth double-double of the season with a match-high-tying 10 kills and 10 digs.
Heidelberg leads the OAC offensively, hitting at a .296 clip and five student-athletes have reached the 100-kill plateau this season, led by junior second-team All-OAC outside hitter Marian Bevington (Celina/Parkway). Bevington ranks fourth in the league with 147 kills and is second with a .369 hitting percentage.
Guiding the offense is the combination of junior setter Rachel Ferguson (Brighton, Mich./Brighton) and sophomore setter Alexa Frank (Tiffin/Calvert). Ferguson has tallied a team-high 341 assists to rank eighth in the OAC, while Frank has 237 helpers of her own.
Defensively, freshman libero Tessa Benanzer (Fort Loramie) has a team-best 240 digs, while Bevington leads with 64 total blocks, including a team-high 31 solo stops.
During its 11-match winning streak, the Berg has won 33 of 34 sets, including the last 21.
Muskingum enters the match 11-9 overall and 1-2 in the OAC following a 3-0 loss to Otterbein on Tuesday. McKensie Smith leads the Fighting Muskies with 155 kills, 306 assists, 28 service aces and is tied for the team lead with 36 blocks. Kim Seitter has tallied a team-high 307 digs.
CWRU, 13-6 overall and 1-2 in the University Athletic Association, has won four of its last six matches, including a sweep at John Carroll University on Wednesday. The Spartans are guided offensively by Tricia McCutchan with 274 kills and Breana Freeman with 678 assists. Defensively, Rachel Gulasey has notched 308 digs, while McCutchan leads with 63 total blocks.
Following Sunday’s matches, Heidelberg will travel to Berea on Tuesday, Oct. 11 for an OAC match with Baldwin-Wallace College at 7 p.m.