Volleyball Extends OAC Record to Perfect 4-0

The Heidelberg College volleyball team continued its dominance in the Ohio Athletic Conference tonight with a 3-1 (30-20, 30-28, 26-30, 30-15) victory over visiting Baldwin-Wallace College. The win improved Heidelberg to 4-0 in league play and 18-4 overall. Baldwin-Wallace dropped to 11-10 overall and 0-2 in league action with the loss.

Since 1991, the 4-0 start in OAC action is the best start by a Heidelberg program in league play. Its previous best beginning was a 2-0 mark in 2005.

Heidelberg took advantage of the match early, winning games one and two. The Berg took an early 6-2 lead in game one, before the Yellow Jackets battled back to knot the score. With the score at 28-20 in favor of Heidelberg, Baldwin-Wallace took a timeout only to return to the court with a attack error to put the Berg on top 29-20. Audra Vucic (Lancaster, Ohio / Fisher Catholic) sealed the game one victory with a kill to end the next rally.

Game two served up to be a back and forth battle once again, with Baldwin-Wallace building a 20-14 lead, prompting a Heidelberg timeout. Following the break Kelsey Elliott (Ottawa, Ohio / Ottawa-Glandorf) and Laurie Patrick (Bellevue, Ohio / Bellevue) attacked for back to back kills to swing the momentum in favor of the Berg. Back to back service aces from Whitney Magers (Green Springs, Ohio / Old Fort) evened the game at 23-23. The two teams battled to two more ties before Whitney Magers recorded a kill and B-W helped out the Berg with an attack error, giving the hosts a 28-25 advantage. The game two victory was sealed with two straight ’Berg kills.

Heidelberg jumped out to an early 11-5 lead in game three on a service ace from Tracy Sutter (Miamisburg, Ohio / Miamisburg), but could not carry the momentum through the entire game. The Berg held a 20-14 lead, but Baldwin-Wallace scored six-consecutive points to tie the game at 20-20. Heidelberg took a timeout, but came out and gave three-straight points to B-W. In the end B-W held its late advantage, eventually earning the win 30-26.

Baldwin-Wallace controlled the scoreboard early on in game four, until two kills and a service ace from Whitney Magers gave Heidelberg the lead it would never relinquish. Whitney Magers picked up two more kills and two more service aces, while Sutter contributed two service aces of her own in the game four victory for Heidelberg.

For the game, Whitney Magers and Elliott lead three with double-figure kills with 13 apiece. Emily Hurlburt (St. Mary’s Ohio / Memorial) finished with 11 kills and four blocks. Leading the Heidelberg offense was sophomore setter Morgan Magers (Green Springs, Ohio / Old Fort), dishing out 45 assists, to go along with 11 digs. Kendra Orwig (Castalia, Ohio / Margaretta) lead all ’Berg defenders with 26 digs, while newcomer Brittany Donelan (North Olmsted, Ohio / North Olmsted) followed closely with a career-high 21 digs.

Heidelberg, under the guidance of Jason Miller, returns to action at the College of Wooster Oct. 6. Aside from facing the host Scots, the Berg will also square off with Denison University.