COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Cardinal volleyball team kicked off its season with a 3-1 record over the weekend, splitting a pair of Friday matches before taking two on Saturday as part of the Otterbein/Capital Fall Classic.

 
Day 1 (at Otterbein):

Otterbein opened Friday's action inside the Rike Center with an entertaining five-set win over defending HCAC champion Hanover College, winning by score of 21-25, 25-12, 25-20, 21-25, 15-11.

The fifth frame was tied 8-8 midway through before the Cards took control, embarking on a quick 5-1 run and never looking back to claim victory. Senior setter Andrea Miller dished out 46 assists and took advantage of classmate Hadley Sterett, who turned in a double-double of 19 kills and 16 digs in playing all the way around.

Alana King-Mendenhall and Tate Eppard played well in the middle, both ripping off 11 kills as Eppard hit a team-high .292 throughout. Libero Ashlyn Leon had 23 digs on the back line of defense.

Otterbein then dropped a three-set showdown with 2017 national runner-up and current No. 4-ranked Wittenberg University in the nightcap, with the Tigers emerging by counts of 25-22, 25-20, 25-14.

The Cardinals appeared primed to take an early lead by holding a 20-16 advantage, but unfortunately relinquished the lead as Wittenberg stormed back to steal the opening set. The second frame was then tied at 19-19 until the Tigers strung together a 6-1 run.

Wittenberg put the match away in the third, hitting .424 as a team overall and getting 30 assists from All-American Karen Wildemann. Otterbein received another 14 kills from Sterett while Eppard/King-Mendenhall combined for 15. The Cards committed 10 service errors from start to finish.

 
Day 2 (at Capital):

The Cards bounced right back with an early-morning triumph Saturday across town, blowing past Washington and Jefferson by a final line score 25-22, 25-14, 25-20.

Otterbein faced initial adversity by trailing 20-14 in the first set before clawing back, winning six-straight points and overtaking the Generals shortly thereafter. The Cards carried that momentum into a lopsided second set, and then finished the job in the third by opening a 9-3 lead and keeping W&J at arm's length.

Sterett led a balanced Cardinal offense with 12 kills while King-Mendenall and Shuk added eight each. Miller had six, Avery Haley had five and the group combined for nine service aces. Leon came up with 26 digs in helping limit the W&J offense to just a .133 percentage.

The Cards culminated their weekend with a four-set victory against Washington and Lee on scores of 25-16, 18-25, 25-21 and 25-20. Otterbein hit .324 as a squad in the opening set, opened an 11-2 lead and led the entire way in the third set, and stood on top 16-7 midway through the fourth en route to victory.

Sterett contributed another double-double performance of 18 kills and 12 digs while her younger sister, Hillary, added 11 digs of her own. Eppard tacked on 12 kills to the Cardinal offense and Miller distributed 45 assists. Leon finished with 34 digs to spearhead the defense, which forced Washington and Lee into hitting just .067 throughout the contest.

Sterett and Miller earned spots on the All-Tournament Team as a result of their efforts, with Sterett taking home Most Valuable Player honors after 63 kills and 41 digs across the fourt outings.

Otterbein will be back in action next weekend at the Emory Classic in Atlanta, Ga. The Cards have four matches on the schedule, beginning with Tufts on Friday at 2 p.m. and culminating on Saturday against Transylvania at 1:30 p.m.