Box Score

ADA, Ohio – A matchup between two of the top volleyball teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) fittingly came down to a fifth set Wednesday evening, with Otterbein ultimately prevailing in a noteworthy victory over No. 17-ranked and host Ohio Northern University.

The Cardinals opened a 2-0 match lead in an energetic ONU Sports Center, and eventually held on to win by final line scores of 25-20, 25-17, 18-25, 23-25, 15-10. Otterbein now stands 18-1 on the season and a perfect 3-0 against the OAC.

The first set was tied 10-10 before Otterbein forced an Ohio Northern timeout by winning three-straight points, and then pushed that margin to 18-13 shortly after the break. ONU scraped back and closed within 18-17, but the Cards responded to end the frame on 7-3 run and secure an early advantage.

Both sides traded points to begin the second game until Otterbein stood with a marginal 12-9 cushion. The Polar Bears (16-4, 1-1 OAC) won a couple points to stay close temporarily, but a well-rounded Cardinal attack slowly pulled away to open a 21-14 edge and never look back.

Otterbein naturally had to try and take Ohio Northern's best shot in the third set, and the Cards hung tough throughout the early stages as the hosts led just 14-12. ONU then found a groove, tallying six of the next eight points to find some more breathing room and stay alive.

The Polar Bears carried that momentum into a 7-3 lead to start the fourth, where Cardinal head coach Monica Wright decided not to call a timeout and instead let her players work through the spurt. Otterbein promptly weathered the storm, countering with a 5-0 run to jump ahead and result in a Northern timeout.

The set evolved into the best of the night, with both teams exchanging scores across long and competitive points. Otterbein held three-point leads of 13-10, 18-15 and 19-16 but a pesky ONU team didn't waver, fighting back to lock up at 19, 22 and 23. The Polar Bears then won two points to propel things into a fifth-set showdown.

A composed Cardinal team persevered at the end, getting a pair of timely blocks early in the fifth and then riding the right arm of standout middle hitter Morgan Lowenkamp to victory. She had kills on each of Otterbein's last three points.

The Cards hit .230 collectively while holding the Polar Bears to a .138 output, with libero Ashlyn Leon registering 22 digs to pace the back line. Junior Hadley Sterett led the way with a strong double-double effort, posting a match-best 22 kills and also coming up with 17 digs en route to hitting a healthy .340.

Lowenkamp was also impressive, ripping off 20 kills and receiving credit on five blocks. Senior classmate Marie Thornton, back in action for the first time in three weeks after sustaining a slight injury, had one solo block and tied teammate Alana King-Mendenhall for a match-best seven block assists. King-Mendenhall also added seven kills while Bethany Eippert contributed six.

Setter Andrea Miller continued her eye-popping stat lines, securing yet another double-double with 55 helpers and 17 digs in directing traffic throughout. She entered the week tied for third nationally in assists per set.

McKenna Jordan and Chelsea Huppert combined for 27 of Ohio Northern's 53 kills while Megan Nieszala led all players with 26 digs. Setter Katie Wade racked up 45 assists.

Otterbein will look to stay hot this coming weekend at the Elmhurst Quad Invitational, playing the host Blue Jays, Wheaton (Ill.) and No. 16-ranked Chicago.