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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The top-seeded Cardinal volleyball squad breezed its way through an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament quarterfinal match against John Carroll Tuesday night in the Rike Center, winning by scores of 25-13, 25-18, 25-16.

Otterbein improves to a stellar 27-3 overall in tying the program's single-season record for most victories, established back in 2013. The Blue Streaks, seeded eighth in the bracket, finish their season at 6-26 overall.

The Cardinals now have a chance to exact a little bit of revenge come Thursday night when they host No. 5-seed Heidelberg in a semifinal contest. The Student Princes, 3-0 winners at Muskingum in the opening round, were the only conference team to beat Otterbein this year with a four-set win in Westerville.

Otterbein broke a 5-5 tie in the first set and flew to victory, winning 11-straight points to open a wide gap and capture the match lead for good.

The Cards faced John Carroll's toughest effort early in the second frame, with the Blue Streaks down just 12-9 before Otterbein pulled away yet again. The night ended after a third set in which the Cardinals led 9-3 and then again at 21-11 before coasting.

Senior Morgan Lowenkamp registered a clean offensive sheet through moderate usage, blasting 10 kills and no errors over 12 attempts for a whopping .833 hitting percentage. Players need a minimum of 15 total attempts to qualify for the program's single-match record, which stands at .765.

Junior Hadley Sterett led the way on the outside, ripping off a match-best 12 kills to go along with seven digs and a pair of block assists. Freshman Emily Shuk added to the production near the net with six kills.

Otterbein hit a solid .292 as a team, paced by setter Andrea Miller leading all players with 25 assists and 11 digs. The Cardinals tallied seven service aces, five coming in the opening set.

Sarah Calabrese recorded eight kills to lead JCU, which hit .034 and had just four blocks compared to 12 for the host Cardinals. Lowenkamp was part of five herself.

A win over Heidelberg on Thursday night could potentially clinch an NCAA spot for Otterbein if Ohio Northern does not advance. Per OAC rules, the regular-season champion is awarded the league's automatic bid if it makes the championship match. In the event that co-champions (OTT/ONU) meet in the title match, then the winner earns an automatic berth.