Box Score
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein University turned in a strong performance Thursday evening with a three-set win (25-12, 25-22, 25-18) over Mount Vernon Nazarene University in the Rike Center.

The Cardinals, ranked No. 13 nationally, improve to 15-4 on the season and drop the Cougars to 7-11 in the process. Otterbein travels to John Carroll University Saturday afternoon to begin Ohio Athletic Conference play. Starting time is slated for 1 p.m.

Otterbein received a career-high 13 kills from sophomore Lauren Beitel, who had 23 attempts and no errors for a .565 percentage. She also added five digs and two block assists.

Junior Kim Barker was equally as impressive, registering 12 kills and no errors on 17 attempts to hit .706 for the match. Setter Tabatha Piper handed out 41 assists while libero Emily Caldwell had a match-high 12 digs.

Annelise Rohrer and Kendra Votaw each tallied nine kills to pace Mount Vernon, which hit .211 compared to Otterbein's blistering .490. The Cardinals had eight block assists while the Cougars managed just one solo block on their side of the net.

Otterbein played its second-straight match without leading hitter Annie Juenger (rest/injury), but the Cincinnati native is expected to return for Saturday's bout at John Carroll (12-6).

The Cards earned a four-set win over the Blue Streaks last season in University Heights by scores of 23-25, 25-21, 25-16, 25-11.