Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

BEXLEY, Ohio – The Cardinal women's volleyball team finished off the opening weekend with a pair of wins Saturday afternoon, flying past Denison University and Earlham College on day two of the Capital/Otterbein Tournament.

Otterbein, now 3-1 on the young season, will be back in action next weekend with four matches at the Hanover Invitational in Indiana.

The Cardinals, playing once again without All-OAC standout Morgan Lowenkamp (illness), emerged in four sets over Denison by scores of 25-21, 13-25, 25-19, 27-25 behind a very balanced offensive effort. Sophomore Alana King-Mendenhall led the way with 10 kills, classmate Olivia Harris followed with nine and juniors Brett Bey and Marie Thornton both had eight.

Otterbein never trailed in the opening set before Denison steamrolled in the ensuing frame. The Cards led for the majority of the third game, leading 17-9 before the Big Red closed within 21-19 after a service error. Otterbein won the next four points to seize a 2-1 match advantage.

Denison held a 16-13 edge midway through the fourth set before Otterbein rallied, embarking on a 9-3 spurt and eventually holding off the opposition following a timely kill from Marie Thornton and then a Denison attacking error.

Neither side hit above .080 for the match, which saw Otterbein setter Andrea Miller hand out 31 assists and libero Ashlyn Leon come up with 27 digs. Harris posted 14 digs to just miss a double-double.

Otterbein toppled Earlham in straight sets to finish the day, prevailing by counts of 25-23, 25-9 and 25-23.

Thornton led the way offensively with 10 kills while newcomer Avery Haley and sophomore Sydney Townes had eight and seven, respectively. Miller and classmate Hannah Adams combined for 26 assists up front at the net.

Leon, digging 11 balls in the second affair, finished with 61 digs over the course of the weekend and was named to the All-Tournament team as a result of her efforts.