WESTERVILLE, Ohio – First place in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC)  volleyball standings will be on the line Friday evening when No. 12 ranked Otterbein University hosts 14th-ranked University of Mount Union in the Rike Center.

Both the Cardinals and Purple Raiders enter the contest at a perfect 6-0 in league play, with the winner assuming control of its own destiny as the regular season hits the final week.

Otterbein, sitting 20-6 overall, recently reached the 20-win mark for the fourth-consecutive season and is searching for its first OAC championship in program history.

Mount Union (19-5) entered 2012 as the preseason favorite to win the OAC under seventh-year leader Leigh Ann Swartz. The Purple and White defeated Otterbein in the semifinals of the 2011 conference tournament before going on to win the title.

“Our team is very excited to play Mount,” said Otterbein sixth-year head coach Monica McDonald, whose Cardinals enter Friday on a nine-match winning streak. “I know my girls have held on to the memory of losing to them in the OAC tournament last season. Both teams seem to be playing great volleyball right now and a chance at the conference regular-season title increases the excitement even more.”

Otterbein is paced by floor general Tabatha Piper, who averages 9.03 assists/set from her setter position. The reigning OAC “Freshman of the Year” also holds a team-best .391 hitting-percentage, having tallied 100 kills (and just 12 errors) on 225 attempts.

At Piper’s disposal are outside hitters Kristen Bennett and Annie Juenger, along with middle’s Liz Palmer and Kim Barker.

Palmer and Bennett rank first and second, respectively, among OAC players in hitting-percentage while Barker comes in fifth. In addition, Juenger sits 10th in the league with a team-high 223 kills and also plays a valuable role in the service game.

Otterbein leads the league in team hitting percentage, posting .237 as a group so far this fall.

Emily Caldwell, Evelyn Carus, and Lauren Beitel have all been key fixtures on the back line for the Cards, while senior Michelle Gernert has bounced back nicely from injury to contribute offensively this season.

Mount Union is led offensively by outside hitters Nicole Snyder and Taylor Webb, who are each blasting over 2.8 kills per set. Both rank in the OAC’s top-10 for kills, while Webb’s .290 hitting percentage is good enough for seventh.

Senior libero Kristen Gromes leads the Raiders on the back line, ranking second in the conference in service aces and seventh in digs.

“Mount plays a different defense and has lot of options offensively,” McDonald explained. “We are familiar with their style after playing them three times last season, and are confident that we can win the match if we play our game. I’m expecting a lot of momentum swings and a five-set battle would not surprise me.”

The two schools split the regular season series a year ago. The Raiders earned a four-set victory at the Hiram Tournament before Otterbein recorded a three-set sweep during the conference matchup in Alliance to end the regular season.

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