UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – Otterbein University volleyball began its quest for a 2013 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) championship Saturday, walking away with a three-set win at John Carroll University.

The No. 13-ranked Cardinals improve to 16-4 overall with the 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 win, dropping JCU to 12-7 in the process.

John Carroll held an early 10-7 lead in the opening set, but the Cardinals rallied with a 9-1 run that was capped by a service ace from junior Kim Barker. The Blue Streaks would not recover as Otterbein cruised to a 25-16 first-set win, finished off by another point from Barker.

Set two featured a reversal of roles, as Otterbein leapt out to a 10-5 advantage only to see JCU respond and eventually pull ahead, 16-15. The set would then go back and forth until the Streaks opened a slim 22-20 lead. With almost no room for error, the Cardinals rattled off five-consecutive points, capped yet again by a kill from Barker, to steal a 25-22 victory.

Otterbein used the momentum to seize a 10-4 lead in the third set, but the hosts hung tough and clawed back to within 13-12. JCU would later tie the set at 18-18 and again at 23-23, but back-to-back kills from Annie Juenger and Liz Palmer would help Otterbein preserve the victory.

Juenger tied for a match-best 10 kills, with Barker and junior Kendel Kellogg contributing eight and seven, respectively.

Leah Switalski and Alexa Webber both recorded 10 kills to pace the Blue Streak attack, which got 30 assists from setter Kit O'Shaughnessy.

Otterbein setter Tabatha Piper also had 30 assists to help the Cardinals hit .324 for the match. Emily Caldwell had 12 digs for the Cardinal defense, which forced JCU to hit just .163 for the contest.

Otterbein returns to action on Friday evening, hosting Baldwin Wallace University at 7 p.m.