Box Score

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein volleyball team matched the best start to a season in program history Tuesday evening in the Rike Center, playing to a four-set victory over Mount Vernon Nazarene by scores of 25-15, 25-16, 15-25, 25-20.

The Cards, now a perfect 11-0 this season, match the same start strung together by the 2009 squad that was integral in turning the program around.

Otterbein, playing for the first in seven full days after having the weekend off for Homecoming, showed little rust in opening the night with a pair of comfortable set wins.

The first frame had ties at all points from 1-9 before the Cardinals found breathing room with a quick 8-1 run. Mount Vernon held an early 5-4 advantage in the second until Otterbein delivered a difference-making 14-4 spurt that blew the game open.

Otterbein encountered some adversity, however, after standout junior Hadley Sterett went down with an injury midway through the second set. That, coupled with usual starter Marie Thornton being out to rest her own injury, left head coach Monica Wright to use a somewhat different lineup/rotation going forward.

The Cougars (11-8) found some new confidence with a strong third set, sprinting out to an 11-5 lead and never allowing Otterbein back within five points the remainder of the way.

Otterbein regrouped and settled back in after switching sides, turning a 7-7 score in the fourth into a 12-7 lead following two MVNU attacking errors and then three-straight kills from powerful middle hitter Morgan Lowenkamp.

The Cougars halted the hosts momentum temporarily, but Otterbein eventually ballooned its margin to 19-10 en route to victory.

Lowenkamp (13) and junior Alana King-Mendenhall (14) combined for a solid 27 kills on the evening as setter Andrea Miller distributed 48 assists. Miller entered the match ranked second in the nation for assists per set while Lowenkamp, who hit .458 over 24 attempts, currently ranks fifth in hitting percentage.

Sterett was hitting a clean 6-0-14 before getting tripped up with the injury while Brett Bey and upstart freshman Dasha Bruyako played key roles with seven and six kills, respectively.

Libero Ashlyn Leon had a nice outing with 24 digs around the court while Miller had 12 to secure yet another double-double performance. Freshman Hillary Sterett dug 12 balls while Olivia Harris added 10 of her own.

Kristen Osborn paced Mount Vernon with 16 kills while Katelyn Dufur, the reigning 'Setter of the Week' in the Crossroads League, posted 27 assists. MVNU hit just .101 for the match compared to a .193 output for the Cardinals.

The Cards will be back in action this coming weekend with a challenging slate of matches at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational in Pittsburgh, Pa. The host Tartans are ranked No. 13 in the latest national poll and the combined record of Otterbein's four opponents is currently 40-9.