Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein volleyball team split a pair of matches Saturday afternoon in the Rike Center, taking down Muskingum University to begin the day before closing with a loss to Thomas More College.

The Cards began with an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) matchup against the Muskies, overcoming a first-set loss to win by scores of 18-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-23.

Muskingum (13-8, 1-2 OAC) broke up a close first set with an 8-3 run midway through, good enough for an early advantage. Otterbein slowly emerged in the second set, breaking an 11-11 tie by winning four of the next-five points and hanging on to even the match.

The Cards held an 8-3 lead to begin the third set, but Muskingum countered with a staggering 14-4 spurt that put the visitors ahead 17-12. Otterbein rallied from there, getting to within 22-19 and then posting five-unanswered points to reach set point. Muskingum made it tough before the Cardinals emerged, 27-25, behind kills from Brett Bey and Brenna McNally.

The fourth set was also a nail-biter, seeing ties at 11, 14, 16, and 17 before the Muskies opened a 20-17 gap. Otterbein kicked into gear once again, closing on a timely 8-3 run to take the match.
Junior Morgan Lowenkamp buried 11 kills to lead Otterbein while Olivia Harris and Marie Thornton both had 10. Bey tallied nine kills herself while setter Andrea Miller had 38 assists. Libero Ashlyn Leon turned in 28 digs and Harris, with nine, just missed a double-double yet again.

Otterbein didn't have as much luck on the nightcap against Thomas More, winning the first set before dropping the next three to settle for a split on the afternoon. The third set was tied at 18 before the Saints (14-8) prevailed, and the fourth stanza saw momentum changes back and forth with ties at 22, 24, 25, 26 and 27 until TMC won two in a row.

Thornton blasted a new career-high of 14 kills despite the loss while sophomore Alana King-Mendenhall had 13. Bey hit .471 with eight kills, and no errors, on 17 chances and Miller distributed 35 helpers.

Both sides performed well offensively as Otterbein hit .231 as a team and Thomas More was at a solid .297 clip. Five players tallied double-digit kills for a balanced offense, led by 14 from Marisa Meyer.

Otterbein will be back in action Tuesday evening, traveling to Wilmington for a 7 p.m. start time within OAC play.