WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein University volleyball opened Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with a victory Friday evening, turning back John Carroll University in four sets.

The Cardinals, ranked No. 14 in the latest national poll, emerged by scores of 23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-11 to move to 9-5 on the season. Otterbein had dropped its last five OAC openers coming into the match.

John Carroll (6-11, 0-2 OAC), opened strong in front of a hostile crowd to pull out a 25-23 opening-set victory.

Otterbein eventually settled in, outlasting the Blue Streaks 25-21 in the second frame before posting a 25-16 third-set win. The Cards flew to an early fourth-set lead, and rode the hot hitting of sophomore Kim Barker down the home stretch en route to a convincing 25-11 win.

Barker led all offensive players with a .286 hitting percentage, posting six kills and two errors on 14 attempts. She also tallied two solo blocks and five block assists.

Senior Kristen Bennett registered six points, and two errors, on 16 attempts (.250) while junior Annie Juenger blasted a match-high 15 kills.

Sophomore setter Tabatha Piper handed out 31 helpers to go along with five kills and seven digs. Defensively, libero Emily Caldwell came up with a match-best 18 kills while Juenger chipped in 10.

Sarah Orlandi and Teresa Noewer paced the JCU attack with eight kills each, while libero Sara Kaminski finished with 17 digs.

The Cardinals held John Carroll to a -.014 hitting percentage on the match, blocking 12 shots in the process. Otterbein also recorded eight service aces.

The Cards play in the Ohio Wesleyan tri-match Saturday afternoon, opening with Allegheny College at 1 p.m. before taking on the host Bishops at 3 p.m. Fans can watch the match against Ohio Wesleyan live by clicking here.