PHOTO GALLERY (coming soon)

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The 2019 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) women's volleyball schedule is expected to be one of the most competitive and challenging in recent memory, and that thought certainly lived up to the billing Friday evening inside the Rike Center in the league opener for both Otterbein and Mount Union.

The two sides, holding a combined record of 29-7 and both receiving votes in the latest AVCA national rankings, provided fans a thrilling five-set showdown to launch the rugged OAC season. In the end, it was the visiting Purple Raiders who held off a wild Otterbein comeback to escape by line scores of 25-17, 25-16, 27-29, 17-25, 15-8.

The Cardinals had many friends and family in attendance throughout the bleachers, but one person who didn't arrive until late was that of "Uncle Mo." Otterbein, down and seemingly all but out of the match, dropped the first two lackluster sets and then trailed 19-12 midway through the third before also facing match point at 24-22

An incredibly resilient Otterbein squad gathered itself and somehow stayed alive, scraping back to tie the set, fighting off three match points and ultimately prevailing by a wild 29-27 margin. With momentum having walked through the door, the Cards took immediate advantage and flew out to a lopsided 13-2 advantage to begin the fourth frame.

Otterbein cruised all the way to a 21-8 margin before the Purple Raiders (15-4, 1-0 OAC) made things tough, demonstrating strong grit themselves by fighting back to only drop the set 25-17. That momentum stayed with Mount Union to begin the winner-take-all fifth set…

The Cards trailed just 5-4 early on before the Raiders took control in the race to 15. Mount won the next five points, opening a 10-5 lead and keeping Otterbein at arm's length down the stretch. The Purple Raiders got 14 kills from both Madelin Dibease and Maria Ellesin in hitting .224 as a collective team.

Otterbein received a match-high 18 kills from junior Tate Eppard in the middle, who was set 41 times and ultimately finished with a .317 percentage. She also added a match-best five blocks for an Cardinal lineup that had 18 total.

Julia Vermilion, doing a lot of her damage in the latter half of the night, added another 14 for the Cardinal offense, which hit .196 throughout. Carlie Craycraft dished out an even 50 assists for the home side while libero Ashlyn Leon had 26 digs. Mount Union libero Alyssa Kasaris led all player with 30 digs in her back row.

Otterbein will have the weekend off before getting back on the floor next Wednesday, welcoming Marietta to town and continuing conference play. That match will take place at nearby Westerville Central High School due to facility logistics of the upcoming democratic debate in the Rike.