Box Score

MARIETTA, Ohio – The Otterbein University volleyball team picked up its fifth-straight Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC)win Tuesday evening, emerging with a three-set victory at Marietta College inside the Ban Johnson Arena.

The win, coming by scores of 30-28, 25-21, 25-22, sets the Cardinals up for a showdown at league rival University of Mount Union Friday evening, 7 p.m., with the winner claiming the outright OAC regular-season championship. The seventh-ranked Purple Raiders simultaneously posted a straight-set win at John Carroll University, improving themselves to 24-4 overall and 7-1 against the league.

Marietta (10-18, 2-6 OAC) had a great chance to take the opening set, leading 23-20 and forcing Otterbein into calling their second timeout of the frame. The Cards rallied from there, winning three-straight points before the two sides began trading points from ties at 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28. Otterbein eventually captured two in a row, getting a sneaky kill from setter Lauren Blumberg before she finished the game off with a service ace that painted the line up the right side.

The Pioneers held a 14-12 lead midway through the second set, but the Cardinals found a stride by winning four quick points and forcing the hosts into a timeout. Otterbein opened a three-point cushion, at 20-17, before Marietta fought back to draw even at 20 and 21. The Cards ultimately prevailed again after a four-point spurt, claiming the set after a Pioneer attacking error.

Otterbein led 12-9 as the third set approached the midway point, but the Pioneers responded momentarily out of a timeout to tie the game at 12-12. The Cardinals regrouped from there, holding off a pesky Marietta squad down the stretch in moving to 16-11 this season and 7-1 within OAC play.

Senior middle Kim Barker, playing just 20 minutes outside her hometown of Watertown, hit .545 on the night and turned in a match-best 14 kills. Classmate Kendel Kellogg added 11 while junior Kasey White posted nine.

Blumberg surpassed 35 assists for a fourth-straight contest, handing out 42 helpers near the net for an Otterbein offense that hit 100 percentage points better than Marietta, at .226 to .126. Kellogg, securing her fifth double-double of the season, and libero Evelyn Carus each had 17 digs while defensive specialist Brenna McNally had a season-high 14.

The Cardinals will now turn their attention to Mount Union, looking to claim the program's first-ever OAC regular-season crown this coming weekend in Alliance. Otterbein defeated the Raiders in the 2012 tournament championship before the two schools split a pair of matches last season, both played at Mount.