WESTERVILLE, Ohio—The No. 8 Heidelberg University volleyball team swept Ohio Athletic Conference foe Otterbein University (25-17, 25-12, 25-23) and Columbus State (25-20, 25-12, 25-18) today at the Rike Center in Westerville, Ohio. The Berg extended its winning streak against conference opponents to 14 matches and is riding a 12-match win streak in regular season conference play dating back to 2009.
The pair of wins ups the Berg to 13-2 overall and 2-0 in the OAC. Otterbein falls to 11-4 overall and 0-1 in the OAC.
Against the Cardinals, senior reigning OAC player of the year Jackie Reinhart (New Riegel) recorded a double-double with a match-high-tying 11 kills and a team-high 11 digs. Junior second-team All-OAC outside hitter Marian Bevington (Celina/Parkway) matched Reinhart’s 11 kills and produced a whopping .556 hitting percentage.
Reinhart is approaching 1,000 kills for her career.
Guiding the offense were junior setter Rachel Ferguson (Brighton, Mich./Brighton), who put up a team-high 19 assists, and sophomore setter Alexa Frank (Tiffin/Calvert) with 13 helpers.
Defensively, junior honorable mention All-OAC right side hitter Jacki Street (Grafton/Midview) and sophomore middle hitter Amber Welfle (Norwalk/St. Paul) recorded a match-high four total blocks.
Against Columbus State, five student-athletes had five or more kills, led by Bevington’s 10. Ferguson and Frank again led with 19 assists and 13 assists, respectively.
Freshman defensive specialist Tessa Benanzer (Fort Loramie) led the defense with 19 digs, while Reinhart added 17 saves of her own.
Freshman outside hitter Shannon Coy (Castalia/Margaretta) served up a season-high three aces.
Heidelberg returns to the hardwood Wednesday, Sept. 28 with an OAC match against at Capital University at 7 p.m.