Live Stats | 'Berg Athletics Network | 'Berg Pride
TIFFIN, Ohio—The No. 6 Heidelberg University volleyball team will look to clinch its third straight Ohio Athletic Conference regular season championship outright Tuesday, Oct. 25 when it hosts conference rival Ohio Northern University in an OAC match at Seiberling Gymnasium in Tiffin, Ohio at 7 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on the ‘Berg Athletics Network (http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/heidelberg.portal#) beginning with a pregame show at 6:45 p.m. In addition, live stats for the match will be available at http://www.heidelberg.edu/statcrew/msoc/xlive.htm.
Three senior outside hitters—Melissa Eck (Parma/Valley Forge), reigning OAC player of the year Jackie Reinhart (New Riegel) and Venessa Haase (Miamisburg)—will be playing in their last regular season match at Seiberling Gymnasium.
The Berg enters the match winners of 18 consecutive matches, 27-2 overall and 8-0 in the OAC following sweeps of OAC foe Marietta College and Pitt – Bradford and a 3-2 win over Thiel (Pa.) College last weekend in Marietta. The Tri-Color has already secured home court advantage throughout the OAC tournament. The Polar Bears, 14-13 overall and 4-3 in the OAC following a sweep of John Carroll University last Friday, have four of their last six matches and are tied for fourth place with Marietta in the conference standings. A Heidelberg win would cap a second straight undefeated conference season for 12th-year head coach Jason Miller.
Leading the Berg offense will be junior second-team All-OAC outside hitter Marian Bevington (Celina/Parkway), who leads the team with 222 kills and a .352 hitting percentage. Reinhart has 205 kills to her credit. Junior setter Rachel Ferguson (Brighton, Mich./Brighton) and sophomore setter Alexa Frank (Tiffin/Calvert) will set the offense. Ferguson leads the team with 510 assists, while Frank has 318. The pair has combined for more than 80 percent (828-of-1,095) of the team’s assists.
Haase, who has 201 kills and 280 digs, has recorded a team-high 29 service aces this season.
On defense, freshman libero Tessa Benanzer (Fort Loramie) has totaled a team-high 381 digs, while Bevington has blocked 93 attacks. Reinhart will also receive a number of attacks, having accounted for 352 digs.
Ohio Northern is led offensively by Cenzie Yoder with 226 kills and a .217 hitting percentage and Amanda Volosin with 562 set assists. Defensively, Jeni Kmic leads the team with 555 digs, while Yoder has accounted for a team-high 54 blocks.
Tuesday’s match is designated as a Berg Pride, and fans can purchase incentive-based Berg Pride cards and t-shirts.