Senior Ellen Grenert has 10 kills, leads Volleyball in 4-set loss at area-rival Bluffton

By Tim Glon

BLUFFTON — Senior Ellen Grenert had a team-high 10 kills to lead the Ohio Northern volleyball team in a 25-22, 27-25, 16-25, 25-22 non-conference loss at area-rival Bluffton Wednesday night in Founders Hall.

The Polar Bears fall to 4-1, while the Beavers improve to 3-2.

Senior Kelsie Zumberger dished out 36 assists, junior Jeni Kmic had 14 digs and junior Julia Fuerst had nine kills and six blocks for ONU.

BU was led by Kendra Parmenter with a match-high 16 kills and Brooke Ruffer with 12 kills.

After falling behind 2 sets to none, ONU rallied for a 25-16 victory in Set 3.

Northern got four service aces and two kills from freshman Kaitlann Hogrefe and three kills each from Grenert and Zumberger in the set.

Three consecutive aces from Hogrefe capped a 4-0 run and gave the Polar Bears a 15-8 lead.

An ace from Kmic put gave ONU its biggest lead at 21-11.

But BU rallied in Set 4, racing to a 5-1 lead. A 4-0 run put the hosts up 15-12 and another 4-0 run extended the lead to 23-18.

In the first set, BU used a 5-0 run to go up 19-16.

Northern tied the set at 20-20, but the Beavers ended the set on a 5-2 run to win the opener 25-22.

In Set 2, ONU scored four consecutive points to go up 23-21 and a kill by freshman Ellie Gillespie put ONU ahead 24-22.

But the Beavers would again rally, scoring five of the last six points, to win the set 27-25.

"We had a difficult time with their serves and did not really get into a flow offensively," ONU head coach Katie Witte said. "We did not play well, but give Bluffton credit - they did a nice job tonight."

ONU hit .193 for the match with 48 kills, while BU hit .160 with 54 kills.

The Polar Bears will return to action Friday and Saturday at the Hanover (Ind.) Tournament.