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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University women's volleyball team saw its 2013 season continue Monday morning, earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament for a fourth-straight year.

The Cardinals, ranked No. 16 nationally at 26-7 overall, will open Thursday against 25th-ranked DePauw University (25-6) at Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, Ill.

Starting times have yet to  be decided for the eight-team regional, which also includes top-ranked Hope College, Webster University (Mo.), University of Washington-St. Louis, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Dominican University (Ill.) and the host Blue Jays.

Second-round matchups will be played Friday and the remaining two schools will face off in the regional final come Saturday.

Otterbein, having finished tied for third at 7-2 in the final OAC regular-season standings this year, enters looking for the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament victory after suffering first-round eliminations each of the last three years, including 2011 and 2012 defeats at the hands of Hope.

"We are obviously looking for our first NCAA win, but I think it's important to have a slightly larger goal of trying to win the entire regional," said 7th-year head coach Monica McDonald, who has guided the program to a 104-28 record since 2010. "For us, that starts with playing a very solid DePauw team. We will prepare the best we can and try to take it one match at a time."

The Cardinal attack is paced by All-American setter Tabatha Piper, who led the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) and ranks top-20 nationally in both assists (10.44 per set) and hitting percentage (.423). The 5'11" junior exceeded 40 helpers in 10 different matches this fall en route to becoming the school's all-time leader in the category, currently standing at 3,333 for her two-plus seasons.

Piper has plenty of offensive weapons at her disposal, including a fellow first-team All-OAC selection in senior outside Annie Juenger. The Cincinnati native ranked atop the conference and top-30 nationally with 3.85 kills per set, burying double-digit kills in all but four outings so far. She is also an asset in the serve game, ranking second in the league for service aces.

Other offensive threats include second-team All-OAC performer Kim Barker, along with Kendel Kellogg, Maddy Shelley, Krystin Estes, and Liz Palmer.

Senior Emily Caldwell, junior Evelyn Carus, and sophomore Gracie Staten are vital to the Cardinals' back line of defense, helping limit the opposition to hitting just .169 throughout the year. McDonald knows that her team will need to clean up a few areas of its game prior to opening against DePauw.

"Serving and defense will both be really important for us to achieve success," McDonald explained. "Our passing and hitting has been consistent, so I think that if we can keep the ball in play, while still being aggressive in the serve game, that we will give ourselves a good chance to win and advance."

DePauw will be making the school's fourth NCAA Tournament appearance, but first since the 2002 season. The Tigers finished tied for second at 6-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference regular-season standings, eventually falling to No. 12-ranked Wittenberg University in the semifinals of the league tournament before beating Denison University in the consolation match.

DePauw dropped its season opener at Ohio Northern University before winning 17 in a row from Aug. 31 through Oct. 5. Otterbein and DePauw have played 11 common opponents this year.

The Tigers feature a very balanced offensive attack, with five players posting between 230 and 270 total kills so far this fall. Sophomore Lauren Falotico proves to be the most dangerous, leading her squad with a .285 hitting percentage and 2.9 kills per set.

DePauw also boasts a talented setter in 5'11" sophomore Faith Rowles, a repeat first-team All-NCAC pick who ranks top-10 nationally with 10.82 assists per set. Keely McGrath leads the way defensively with 5.38 digs per frame.

Fans can follow all matches at the site on live stats and/or live video, and also access the regional website for additional tournament information.