FRANKLIN, IND. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology clinched a bid to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament with a 25-23, 25-23, 25-23 victory at Franklin College on Wednesday night.
The Fightin' Engineers improved to 4-4 in conference play and 14-17 overall with the victory. Rose-Hulman has clinched one of the six spots for the league tournament by virtue of tonight's win and a loss by Anderson at Manchester on Wednesday night.
Sophomore Sarah Jensen (Overland Park, Kan./Blue River Valley) narrowly missed a triple-double with 14 kills, 13 assists and nine digs to lead the Engineers. Freshman Katelyn Race (Columbia, Mo./Rock Bridge) added 12 kills, and freshman Morgan Dreyer (Batesville, Ind.) helped propel the offense with 30 assists.
Senior Kate Dangel (Upper Arlington, Ohio) led the Engineers in two statistical categories with 27 digs and three service aces. Senior Catherine Fiutem (Harrison, Ohio/Oldenburg Academy) added three block assists, with Dreyer contributing two blocks to the performance.
Franklin was eliminated from conference tournament contention with the loss and dropped to 14-14 overall and 2-6 in league play.
Rose-Hulman stands 14-17 overall and will host Manchester University in its Senior Day match on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Fightin' Engineers will honor Dangel, Fiutem and Casey Levitt (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) prior to the final regular season home match.
