Box Score

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinal volleyball team kept pace atop the conference standings Saturday afternoon, turning back visiting Baldwin Wallace University in four sets inside the Rike Center.

Otterbein, winning by scores of 25-14, 24-26, 28-26 and 25-16, improves to 15-11 overall and a solid 6-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play.

The Cardinals came out flying in set one, winning 18 of the first 23 points and never looking back to grab an early lead.

Baldwin Wallace (15-12, 3-4 OAC) evened the match with a set-two victory, outlasting Otterbein in a frame that saw ties at 15, 16, 18, 19, 20 and 24.

Otterbein returned the favor in game three, fighting off two sets points to draw even, at 24-24, before eventually pull out the 28-26 win.

The Cardinals rode the hot hand of senior outside hitter Kendel Kellogg down the stretch, taking the wind out of BW's sail by seizing an early 13-3 lead in the fourth. The Jackets did fight off five match points before Kellogg put the finishing touches on her career day of 27 kills, the third-most ever for an Otterbein player behind Mandy Simmerman's 29 in 1999, and Alicia Davis' school-record of 34 in 2007. She also finished with a career-high 20 digs to make her stat line even more eye-popping.

Kellogg hit an impressive .400 for Otterbein, which also got eight kills from Kasey White and seven from both Kim Barker and Morgan Lowenkamp. Barker provided a strong presence at the net, especially in the fourth game, en route to finishing with two solo blocks and four block assists.

Sophomore setter Lauren Blumberg, handling the setting duties herself after senior Kayla Radekin went down with a season-ending injury last week, also performed admirably with career-highs of 44 helpers, 17 digs and four slick kills.

Baldwin Wallace got 15 kills from Alayna Chlad, but managed to hit just .142 for the match compared to Otterbein's .220 effort.

Otterbein will be back in action come Tuesday evening, traveling to take on Marietta College for a 7 p.m. start time.