RICHMOND, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology clinched a bid to the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament with a 25-19, 25-16, 25-20 victory over Earlham College on Wednesday night.
The Fightin' Engineers improved to 6-2 in HCAC play with the win and are tied for second place in the league standings entering the final day of the regular season. Rose-Hulman would secure either a first-round tournament home game or a first-round bye in the HCAC Tournament with a win over Defiance College on Saturday.
Freshman Grace Beach led the Rose-Hulman offense with eight kills on the evening. Marissa Gollnick added seven kills for a balanced attack that hit .246 for the evening.
Katie Orbeta paced the assist effort with 18, with Alison Rogozinski contributing 12 assists. Rogozinski recorded a match high 11 digs for the Fightin' Engineers, and Bailey MacInnis led the front row attack with three block assists.
Ashleigh Burton led the Earlham offense with 11 kills and Lauren Jackson had 30 assists for the Quakers.
Rose-Hulman will host Senior Day festivities prior to Saturday's 1 p.m. matchup against Defiance. The six-team HCAC Tournament begins with opening round play on Wednesday Nov. 1. The No. 2 seed will join top-seeded Hanover with a bye into the Saturday Nov. 4 semifinal round at Hanover.
