By: Colton Steiner
ST LOUIS, Mo. - The Bluffton Beavers women's volleyball squad hit the ground running when they faced off against the Webster University Gorlocks and the Carthage Firebirds in St. Louis at the WashU Bear Invite. In the first match of the night against Webster, after falling behind early in the first set, the Beavers would recover and find their groove, cruising to a win in the first set and then winning the second and third sets to pick up a 3-0 sweep to start the 2025 campaign. They would then face off against the Carthage Firebirds in the game two of the night and despite finding their rhythm late, Bluffton would fall in four sets, 3-1. With the split, they start the season with a record of 1-1.
The Beavers came away with a nail-biting 25-23 win in the first set where they blasted away with a team hitting percentage of .243 that included 14 kills. Set two of the match was much of the same, with Bluffton dominating at the net and picking up a 25-23 victory to go up 2-0 on the Gorlocks. The Beavers would continue the momentum in the third set, going on a 5-1 run to go up 18-13 after Paige Massie (Alvada) smashed a kill into the hardwood. Despite a late comeback from Webster, cutting the lead to one at 23-22, Bluffton remained unfazed with Madison Brentlinger (Indian Lake) hitting back-to-back strikes to clinch the third set 25-22, sealing the 3-0 victory.
Leading the way at the net for the Bavers was Jenna Woods (DeGraff/Riverside), who collected 15 kills on 33 attempts with Madison Brentlinger close behind her with 12 kills on 34 attempts, while also collecting 10 digs in the outing. Gabby Williams (West Liberty/West Liberty-Salem) would finish the match with 17 assists, while Ella Taylor (Urbana) contributed 16 in the contest. All over the floor and scooping up a team-high 13 digs was Emma Organ (Lambertville, MI/St. Ursula Academy), while Saniyah Terry (Macomb, MI/L Anse Creuse HS North) added 10 of her own.
Bluffton would get right back into action as they continued the WashU Bear Invite by going up against the Firebirds of Carthage College in the contest of the evening. Carthage jumped out to an early lead in the first set and not look back, cruising to a 25-12 win over the Beavers. Bluffton struggled to find a groove in their attacks in the first set, with only five kills and 11 errors to start the contest. The Firebirds would continue their onslaught in set two, with a dominating 25-14 performance against Bluffton. Despite cutting down on the attack errors, the Beavers just couldn't get in a rhythm offensively as they only manged to put up five kills in the second set.
Bluffton found its groove in set three, when they cut through a seven-point deficit and tied up the game after Brentlinger would get a kill and follow that up with a solo block, making the score 20-20. After an exchange of points, the Beavers would then take the lead at 22-21 after Massie and Brentlinger combined for a block at the net. Following back-to-back attack errors by the Firebirds, Bluffton would then close out the set and pick up a 25-21 win after a Kasey Sager (Troy) hammered home a kill. The fourth set would open up with both teams going back and forth until a 5-1 run from Carthage gave the Firebirds a 14-9 lead. The Beavers would then go on a little run of their own, cutting the deficit down to two after a Laila Sites (Delphos/St. John's) kill made the score 22-20. Despite cutting into the Carthage lead, Bluffton was unable to mount a comeback as they would fall 25-21 in the fourth set, dropping the contest to the Firebirds, 3-1.
Leading the Beavers at the net was Laila Sites and Madison Brentlinger who each tallied seven kills, with Brentlinger adding four digs. Taylor handed out 14 assists and Williams added 11, while Emma Organ would scrape up 19 digs in the affair.
Bluffton will get right back into action tomorrow on Saturday, Aug. 30 when they face off against the host of the WashU Bear Invite, Washington (Mo.) at 11 a.m. before rounding out the weekend against Willamette at 2 p.m.
- BEAVERS-