Engineers Falls to Wilmington in Five Games to End 2006 Season at Centre Tournament

DANVILLE, KY. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology dropped a five-game decision to Wilmington 31-29, 24-30, 32-30, 28-30, 15-8 to complete the 2006 volleyball season on Sunday at Centre College.

Earlier in the weekend, Rose-Hulman dropped decisions of  30-13, 30-25, 30-19 to Wisconsin-Oshkosh; 30-21, 30-23, 30-26 to Heidelberg; and 23-30, 30-20, 30-18, 30-25 to Oglethorpe.

The Engineers battled Wilmington to five games for the second time this season, after Rose-Hulman topped the Quakers at Hulbert Arena in September.  In the rematch, sophomore Sarah Messmer (Cincinnati, Ohio/ McNicholas) led Rose-Hulman with 12 kills.

Freshman Kate Sernett (Crystal Lake, Ill./Marian Central Catholic) added 10 kills and a team-hgh 24 digs for the Engineers.  Other key contributors included sophomore Brandi Sturgill (Zionville, N.C./Watauga) with 35 assists and 21 digs; junior Amanda Fellows (Beavercreek, Ohio) with 24 digs; and sophomore Katie Wolber (Brookville/Franklin County) with three service aces and 21 digs.

Against Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Sunday, junior Katie Tharp (Linton) led the team with six kills.  Sturgill had team-high totals of 15 assists and nine digs, while Messmer added a pair of blocks.

On Saturday, Fellows paced Rose-Hulman with 11 kills against Oglethorpe.  Sernett and Messmer each had 10 kills, while Sturgill led the team with 36 assists and 25 digs.  Sernett was also credited with 20 digs and one service ace in the match.

In the Heidelberg match, Messmer recorded a team high with 13 kills.  Sturgill had 25 assists and 17 digs, with Wolber tallying 16 digs and Messmer adding 15.

Rose-Hulman capped the season tied for eighth place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings.

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