Donelan Reaches 1,000 Digs in Sweep Over JCU

Sophomore libero Brittany Donelan (North Olmsted, Ohio / North Olmsted) tallied 32 digs to lead the Heidelberg College volleyball team to a 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 25-15) win over John Carroll University. Donelan’s 32 digs also inked her named permanently in the record books as just the 11th player in the history of the program to dig 1,000 balls. Also she increases her season dig total to 622, which ranks in the top-five for digs in a single-season.
 
The win improves Heidelberg to 24-5 overall, which stands fourth all-time for wins in a season. Heidelberg also upped its Ohio Athletic Conference record to 7-1. JCU falls to 15-10 overall and 2-4 in league action. The win was the 14th-consecutive in Seiberling Gymnasium for Heidelberg, which dates back to Oct. 2006.
 
Emily Hurlburt (St. Mary’s, Ohio / Memorial) erased a John Carroll set point with a kill in the middle and knotted set one at 24-24. Jackie Reinhart (New Riegel, Ohio / New Riegel) registered back-to-back kills from the left side to seal the 26-24 ’Berg victory. Donelan finished the set with 14 digs, which increased her career digs total to 1, 002, and sent her officially into the career record annuals.
 
Heidelberg utilized a 6-0 run to tie set two at 8-8 and erase an early John Carroll advantage. The two teams battled back and forth until Heidelberg’s Venessa Haase (Miamisburg, Ohio / Miamisburg) ignited three-straight points with a kill and gave the Berg an eventual 22-19 lead. In the end a JCU attack error and a Haase kill sealed a 25-22 ’Berg win.
 
A total team effort sent Heidelberg to a 25-15 set three win and match victory.  The Heidelberg hitters picked up 11 kills, while the servers racked up five service aces. More impressive was the Heidelberg defense which allowed just four JCU kills in 31 attempts.
 
For the match Hurlburt led the way with 13 kills in 29 attempts with just two errors for a .379 attack percentage. Haase came off the bench to finish with 10 kills, while eight others contributed at least one kill in the winning effort. Morgan Magers (Green Springs, Ohio / Old Fort) dished out 34 assists and added 18 digs, marking her second-straight double-double and eighth on the year. Backing Donelan in the back row was Reinhart and Suzy Street (Grafton, Ohio / Midview) with 15 digs apiece.
 
Heidelberg faces a week off before hosting Otterbein College on Oct. 25 at 7:00 p.m. Prior to the start of the match the Berg will recognize its three seniors, Hurlburt, Audra Vucic (Lancaster, Ohio / Fisher Catholic) and Kelsey Elliott (Ottawa, Ohio / Ottawa-Glandorf).