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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – On what was a memorable and electrifying afternoon inside the Rike Center, the Otterbein volleyball team swept 18th-ranked Ohio Northern by scores of 25-17, 25-18, 25-17 to claim the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament championship.

The Cardinals, seeded first in the eight-team bracket, improve to 29-3 on the season and secure the league's automatic qualifier spot in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. This marks the program's second OAC Tournament title and fifth appearance in the big dance.

"I think everyone has continued buying into the championship culture that Monica is trying to pursue," senior Marie Thornton said. "We obviously have talent, but have found a way to make that talent harmonious on the court and complement one another. This is a great day."

 

Ohio Northern (27-5) shared the OAC regular-season trophy with Otterbein, but held the second seed after losing a five-set matchup against the Cards earlier this season at home. The Polar Bears, reaching the OAC championship match a staggering 26 times in the 34-year tournament history, will now wait to see if/where they will also play in the NCAA's.

"Ohio Northern is a team we have great respect for and has been at the top of this conference for a long time," Thornton added. "We certainly didn't walk into this match thinking it'd be easy, but we were also comfortable with our matchups and had confidence we would be the better team."

The Cardinals led almost the entire match, beginning in the first set where they never trailed and opened a 23-13 margin before easing to an early advantage.

Otterbein was ahead wire-to-wire in the second frame, flying out to a 10-4 cushion and forcing ONU coach Kate Witte to burn a timeout. The Polar Bears won three-straight points out of the break, but a determined Cardinal squad regrouped to methodically pull away behind the energy of its home crowd.

Northern threw its biggest punch to begin the third set, taking a 4-0 lead until Otterbein countered with an 8-1 run and never looked back. The Cards maintained a 15-11 gap midway through the stretch, keeping their opposition at arm's length and eventually watching junior Hadley Sterett blast home the final point as the Rike Center rose to its feet.

Sterett, who transferred from Wright State in the offseason to play with her younger sister and create a new chapter, had a double-double by leading all players with 17 digs, 13 kills and 38 total attempts in going all the way around the rotation.

"This is a dream come true," said an emotional Sterett with tears in her eyes. "This is exactly what I came here for and I can't even put the emotions into words. I feel at home and part of this family now."

Thornton was sensational at the net, turning in a clean hitting line of 12-0-22 to hit .545 for the day. Classmate Morgan Lowenkamp had eight kills and hit .389, junior Alana King-Mendenhall blasted seven and freshman Emily Shuk totaled six as part of an offensive effort directed by the 43 assists from setter Andrea Miller.

Libero Ashlyn Leon was her usual self on the back line, digging 16 balls to help the defense limit ONU to a .068 hitting percentage collectively. The Cardinals had nine total blocks on the day (three solo, 12 assisted), ignited once again by the fiery King-Mendenhall in on six.

"We focused on certain things earlier in the season so that we could peak right now," Sterett said. "I think it's turning out perfect because we seem to all be there physically, mentally and emotionally. It's time to keep pushing harder than we ever have and maintain this mindset."

McKenna Jordan had 11 kills to lead Ohio Northern.

Otterbein will learn of its NCAA details (opponent, setting, date, etc.) come Monday at 12:30 p.m. during the Selection Show. Live link to the broadcast will be posted when it becomes available.