The Baldwin-Wallace College Volleyball Team Defeats
Otterbein, 3-0, to Advance to OAC Tournament "Final Four"
BEREA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College volleyball team defeated Ohio Athletic Conference rival Otterbein College, 3-0, tonight (November 2) at the Rudolph Ursprung Gymnasium in Berea. The scores of the match were 30-11, 33-31 and 30-16. With the win, the Yellow Jackets will advance to the OAC "Final Four" this Friday and Saturday, November 5-6.
B-W improved to 21-12 overall while Otterbein ends its season with a 14-15 record.
Offensively, senior two-time All-OAC middle hitter Laura Leach (Norwalk/ Senior), led the way on the front line with 15 kills followed by junior Emily Albanese (Mentor) with 12. The 15 kills gives Leach 583 this season which is second all-time at B-W in a single season. Leach is 53 kills shy of the single-season school-record of 636 set last year by All-American Cassie Palmer '04.
The Yellow Jacket offense was setup by sophomore setter Kristin Habegger (Oregon/ Clay) who had 37 set assists and 10 digs. In addition to her 12 kills, Albanese led the way with four service aces.
On defense, sophomore libero Kim Stoll (Norwalk St. Paul) led the team with 24 digs. Also, senior defensive specialist Kari Kuhn (Amherst/ Steele) had 14 digs. Meggie Martin (Bowling Green/ Senior) also contributed 12 digs.
Otterbein was led offensely by Heather Meyer's 15 kills. Melissa Davis set up the offense with 18 set assists followed by Natalie Williams with 14. Defensively, Meyer had a team-leading 17 digs. Beth Benedictt contributed with 12 digs.
B-W will play Capital University on Friday, November 5 at 5:00 p.m. in the first of two semifinal games. Ohio Northern, who earned the top seed in the tournament, also advances to the 2004 OAC "Final Four," and will host both semifinal games and the championship game on Saturday, November 6 in Ada.
FOR MORE B-W SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact the B-W Sports Information Office by telephone at (440) 826-2327, by FAX at (440) 826-2329 or e-mail SID Kevin Ruple at kruple@bw.edu. To reach Head Coach Vicki Brault, please call her at (440) 826-3254, FAX her at (440) 826-2192 or e-mail her at vbrault@bw.edu.