Box Score

ALLIANCE, Ohio – Otterbein University concluded its regular-season schedule Saturday afternoon with A neutral site match, suffering a four-set loss to No. 11-ranked Juniata College at the University of Mount Union.

The Cardinals, now 16-13 overall on the season, will be the third seed in next week's Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament and will host sixth-seeded Capital University on Tuesday in quarterfinal action. Start time is scheduled for 7 p.m. The Crusaders finished in a sixth-place tie with Baldwin Wallace after beating the Yellow Jackets Saturday afternoon.

Otterbein fell to Juniata by scores of 13-25, 24-26, 25-20, 12-25, nearly winning the second set after holding a 24-22 lead. However, the Eagles rallied to win four-consecutive points to steal the game and take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Cardinals stayed alive with a third-set victory, jumping out to a 13-8 advantage and holding off Juniata down the stretch. The Eagles got to within 18-17, but Otterbein finished the frame on a 7-3 spurt to extend the contest.

Juniata put the Cardinals away in the fourth, recording 13 service aces in the match and hitting .144 compared to Otterbein's .078 percentage.

Freshman Morgan Lowenkamp led Otterbein in hitting for a second-straight match, going  for 10 kills and just two errors on 24 attempts. Senior Kim Barker hit .318 in the match with nine kills to go along with two block assists and one solo effort. Libero Evelyn Carus finished with 27 digs in the back.

Otterbein will look to beat its cross-town rival Capital for a second time this season on Tuesday night after previously pulling out a five-set win in Bexley back on Sept. 30. Barker put the Cards on her back in that matchup with a career-high 21 kills.