On Wednesday, Oct. 31, the Bluffton University volleyball team hosted the first round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) volleyball tournament. The Beavers took on the Hanover College Panthers, winning the match in three straight sets (26-24, 25-17, 25-21) in front of a costume-clad student section, landing them a spot in semi-finals for the sixth straight season.
The game coincided with Halloween, so students were encouraged to dress up in their Halloween costumes to cheer on their fellow Beavers.
The Bluffton University Volleyball Twitter account encourages students to show their support and wear their Halloween costumes to the game.
The third set was a little too spooky for the Beavers as they were down 16-9 to the Panthers. The spirits of Halloween stepped in to help this volleyball team when seniors Bethany Martini (Pickerington/North) and Courtney Zimpfer (Jackson Center) pitched in four serves each getting the Beavers back into the game down 18-17.
Senior Erin Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley) chipped in with a kill followed by four Abby Rohrbach (New Knoxville) serves, giving the Beavers a 23-21 lead before Rohrbach ended the game with back-to-back kills for the sweep.
Weisgarber became the all-time assists leader during the game when she dished out career assist 4,276, surpassing Jayne Miller for the most in Bluffton University volleyball history.
At the game, there were an array of different costumes. Some students dressed in group costumes while others decided to dress up on their own. Some of the costumes seen at the game included Super Mario Brothers characters Mario, Luigi and Yoshi. Students were spotted in wigs, onesies, face paint and even giant animal heads.
In semifinal game on Nov. 3, the Beavers played the host of the HCAC Tournament, the Transylvania University Pioneers. They lost three sets to one (25-18, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22), ending the season for the volleyball team.
Ty Avila contributed to this report.
Photo at the top courtesy Louise Matthews.
