By Floid Krajcovic
The Bluffton University Volleyball team hopes to win the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference title for the fourth year in a row this weekend at Hanover. With the performance the women have shown this year, they have a have a shot at winning the title.
The Beavers were undefeated in conference play until their 3-1 loss against Hanover Saturday, Oct. 29. The loss cost Bluffton the chance to host the tournament.
“The strength in the run can be attributed to buy-in by all the players in our program towards a common goal that is facilitated by our seniors Lauren and MacKenzie who are leading the way,” said Beavers Head Coach Steve Yarnell.
The women have secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament this year after the loss to Hanover, who took the No. 1 seed in the tournament this Saturday by beating the Beavers.
“Our seniors know how to win and win when it counts,” Yarnell said. “One thing that has eluded them is a regular season HCAC championship. The past three years, they have won the HCAC tournament as a 6, 3, and 2 seed. One of their goals is to win the regular season title and host the championship in the Sommer Center. That is plan A. Plan B is to win the tournament championship if we do not host.”
Plan A is out the door, so it looks like the Beavers will have to rely on plan B. Conference play for Bluffton begins with a 5 p.m. match Saturday against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology at Hanover.
