MARIETTA, Ohio – On the road in the OAC Tournament -- It's a place unfamiliar to the members of the Heidelberg Univeristy volleyball team.
The bus ride to Marietta did not seem to bother Heidelberg's seniors, Marian Bevington (Celina/Parkway), Rachel Ferguson (Brighton, MI) and Jacki Street (Grafton/Midview). The trio led the fifth seeded Heidelberg to a 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-19) quarterfinal win over fourth seeded Marietta College on Wednesday night.
The win for Heidelberg avenged a stunning 3-0 loss at home against Marietta in the regular season.
"We played our style of volleyball," said head coach Jason Miller. "We controlled the ball much better than we did in the regular season."
Miller lauded the effort of the seniors.
"The seniors really played hard...they didn't want their season to end," said Miller. "They made the difference in the last three games."
Heidelberg attacked at a .122 clip as they dropped the first set, but rallied to win the next three sets. For the match, the Student Princes attacked at a .241 mark.
Junior Amber Welfle (Norwalk/St. Paul) led Heidelberg with 16 kills, followed closely by Bevington with 15 kills. Street matched her jersey number, as she amassed 13 kills.
Freshman Jamie Kluding (Norwalk/Monroeville) had 10 kills and 18 digs.
Kluding was one of six players with over ten digs.
Tessa Benanzer (Ft. Loramie) had 29 digs. Jubilee Haase (Miamisburg) had a career-high 17 digs, while Kristen Zumberger (Sidney/Ft. Loramie) added 13.
Both setters, Ferguson and Alexa Frank (Tiffin/Calvert) had double-doubles. Ferguson finished with 28 assists and 11 digs. Frank had 18 assists and 12 digs.
"It was a great team effort," said Miller. "I'm happy to advance in the tournament."
Heidelberg (19-13) will travel to Alliance to face the #1 seeded Mount Union in the OAC semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. Mount Union defeated Heidelberg 3-1 last Friday in the regular season.