Box Score

BEREA, Ohio – The Otterbein volleyball team picked up an impressive Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament victory Tuesday evening, surprising No. 3-seed Baldwin Wallace in three-straight sets during the quarterfinal round.

The Cardinals, seeded sixth in the eight-team bracket, advance by scores of 25-13, 25-22, 25-20 and improve to 14-17 on the season. Baldwin Wallace, enjoying its best season in almost a decade, ends the fall campaign at 23-7 overall.

Otterbein, determined for redemption after a four-set loss at BW just a couple weeks ago, came out firing by opening the first set on a 10-2 run. The Yellow Jackets temporarily halted the run, but the Cards would eventually ease themselves into an early advantage.

The Cards settled into another early lead to begin set two, grabbing an 8-3 cushion before Baldwin Wallace fought back to draw even at 9-9. The close frame would then see 12-straight ties from 10-10 all the way through 21-21 until the Cards emerged once again, capping the set with a kill from sophomore Marie Thornton.

Both sides would trade points once again in a very close third set, which consisted of eight ties until the Cards found some breathing room with  a 7-2 run, finished by a kill from freshman Sam Hurdzan to give Otterbein a 22-17 edge and force a BW timeout.

The Jackets won three-straight points out of the break, but Otterbein responded with three of its own to promptly end the match and register the sweep.

Sophomore Morgan Lowenkamp tallied nine kills to pace her team once again, while Thornton and freshman Lauren Tigner blasted eight each. The Cards hit .247 as a team throughout and got 30 assists from setter Andrea Miller.

Otterbein was on fire from the service line, ripping off 14 service aces from start to finish compared to just four on the BW side.

Otterbein will now travel to No. 2-seed Ohio Northern University in the semifinal round Thursday night at 7 p.m. The Polar Bears, 23-5 on the year, took down Mount Union in three sets to advance.