WESTERVILLE, OHIO – Otterbein, the #4 seed, upstaged fifth-seeded and cross-town rival Capital in five games Tuesday evening in the quarterfinal round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.

The win moves the Cardinals to 24-8 on the season and propels them into an OAC semi-final matchup at Heidelberg, the tourney’s top seed. Otterbein earned an upset bid of Heidelberg earlier this season in Westerville.

Otterbein jumped out to an early 5-1 lead in game number one, and extended the lead to 8-3 after a kill from freshman Michelle Gernert. After back-to-back kills from sophomore Alicia Chafins made the score 11-6, Otterbein took an even larger lead when freshman Ally Nagle tallied a point to push the advantage to 16-8.

Gernert tallied the 18th and 20th points on scattered plays, and Chafins struck a ball towards the back right corner that bounced off a Capital player’s hands for the 24th point. OC eventually grabbed the first game 25-10.

Down 11-9 in the second game, the Cardinals rallied back and took a 20-15 edge on another kill from Chafins. After a spike up the ride side from junior Rayna Coleman made it 23-17, Chafins ended the game a few points later, giving OC a 25-18 game two victory.

Coleman made it 7-5 early in the third set, and the team took a 16-13 lead after a Capital attacking error. However, the Crusaders responded and pulled out a 25-23 victory.

Capital jumped out early in game four and didn’t look back, winning 25-19.

Game five saw Otterbein take a quick 5-2 lead, which was followed by a Capital timeout. A kill from senior Leah Yoder gave the Cards a 10-8 edge, and Otterbein won five of the next seven points for a 15-10 fifth-set victory.

Chafins and Gernert tallied 12 kills a piece to lead the Otterbein attack. Nagle, the OAC leader in kills, registered 11 on 32 attempts.

Sophomore libero Lindsey Russell tallied 29 digs while Chafins added 20. Russell is the conference’s leader in the category.

Freshman Lydia Wynkoop and senior Marinda Roderick combined for 49 assists, tallying 27 and 22, respectively.

The team now turns its attention to #1 seed Heidelberg on Friday. Starting time for that semi-final match is slated for 7 p.m. in Tiffin.