ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Otterbein University came away with three wins in four matches at the Washington University (St. Louis) Invitational over the weekend, improving to 6-3 on the season.
The Cardinals, ranked 23rd-nationally by the American Volleyball Coaches Association, opened the weekend with a four-set victory over 24th-ranked Concordia College (Minn.). Otterbein overcame a 19-25 first-set loss to go on and win the remaining three games 25-21, 25-22, 25-20.
Junior Annie Juenger led the way for the Tan and Cardinal with 16 kills, while classmate Emily Caldwell came up with 29 digs from her libero position.
Otterbein also won its second outing on Friday, rallying from a 2-1 set deficit to take down the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, which entered the weekend ranked No. 12 in the country.
The Cards lost set one 21-25 but bounced back to cruise in the second frame, 25-16. Whitewater responded with a 25-18 third-set victory, but Otterbein hung tough and eventually won set four 28-26 after being locked at 24-24. The group carried the momentum over to set five, jumping ahead early and never looking back to win 15-6.
Otterbein maintained a balanced offensive attack against the Warhawks, with Juenger and senior Kristen Bennett recording15 and 11 kills, respectively.
Caldwell came up with 22 digs in the win, while sophomore setter Tabatha Piper registered a career-best 20 digs. Sophomore Kim Barker also set a career-high with four blocks.
The Cards started day two even stronger than the first, turning back 11th-ranked Elmhurst College (Ill.) in straight-sets at 25-19, 25-22, 25-23.
Piper dished out 35 assists over the three sets while Bennett and fellow senior Michelle Gernert both hit over .380, combining for 19 kills on 37 attempts.
Otterbein suffered its lone defeat at the hands of host and No. 1 ranked Washington in the last outing Saturday afternoon. The Bears took set one 25-18, and Otterbein tied the second set at 13-13 before seeing the Bears vault ahead for another 25-18 win. The Cards were never able to generate a significant run in the third set en route to a 19-25 defeat.
Despite the loss to finish, head coach Monica McDonald was very pleased with her team’s performance on the trip.
“We were a lot more consistent this weekend than last,” said McDonald, who now sits just five wins shy of 100 for her coaching career. “We played every point hard to give ourselves a chance in every match, and that effort ultimately helps you catch a few breaks here and there. I thought we capitalized when needed.”
Bennett had another solid outing in the finale, hitting .533 after posting eight kills, and no errors, on 15 total attempts. She and Piper earned spots on the All-Tournament team.
“Tab is a key leader for us out on the floor, and she continues to do a great job distributing within the offense,” McDonald said. “Kristen took advantage of what the opposing blockers and defense gave to her, and just played within herself. I think it’s a typical performance of what we can look forward to from them moving forward.”
Otterbein returns home to host a tri-match on Tuesday with Columbus State Community College and Northwestern of Ohio, with match times slated for 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
From there, the team will finish out the week at the Wittenberg Tournament Sept. 14-15. McDonald knows her team must stay focused moving forward and into conference play, but also hopes the most recent results cement a confident mindset within the group.
“I’ve been telling the girls for a long time that we can play with anyone,” McDonald said. “I think beating three ranked teams in one weekend proves that we belong among the best nationally.”
