CHICAGO, Ill. – The Otterbein volleyball team admirably bowed out of the NCAA Division III Tournament Saturday night in a true road match, finishing on the low end of three incredibly competitive sets against host and No. 2-ranked Chicago in a second-round battle.
The Cardinals, finishing their impressive campaign at 26-7 overall, went down the stretch against the Maroons during each set inside an energetic Ratner Athletics Center. Chicago (28-3) ultimately managed to secure the key points at key times, prevailing by line scores of 25-21, 27-25, 25-21.
Chicago grabbed an early 8-3 lead in front of a rowdy home crowd, winning the serve game and keeping Otterbein out of position offensively. The Cards settled in to only trail 13-9 approaching the midway point, but the Maroons widened the lead to 20-12 and again to 24-17. Otterbein refused to go quietly in that first set, winning four-straight points before a service error gave Chicago a 1-0 match advantage.
The second set would be a knock-down, drag-it-out war that ultimately swung the pendulum in the contest. Otterbein held a 6-3 lead before locks at 7, 8 an 10. Chicago found a groove to take a 16-11 edge, but the Cards countered right back with a 7-1 run of their own to find themselves leading 18-17.
An old-fashioned slugfest would then encounter ties at 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24 and 25. The Cards trailed 24-22 but fought off two set points behind a kill from
Emily Shuk, followed by a mammoth solo block from
Dasha Bruyako. Unfortunately, the Maroons benefited from a critical free ball (at 25-25) that hit the ground after a mix-up on the Otterbein side, and then won the ensuing point.
Otterbein led throughout the early stages of the third frame until ties at 11, 12 and 13. Chicago had a mini 5-1 run to force a timeout by the Cards, who then responded with a 5-1 run as well to lock the score back up at 19-19. The Maroons found a groove from that point to seal the deal, registering five of the next seven points to close.
Chicago hit .206 as a team compared to a collective .142 for Otterbein, which did get another match-high of 13 kills from middle
Tate Eppard. She and freshman setter
Carlie Craycraft, who handed out 40 assists, were both named to the
AVCA All-Region team earlier this week. Eppard ends the season with 410 kills, a top-10 season in program history, while Craycraft's 1,287 helpers are fourth best. Craycraft was also named to the All-Tournament Team in Chicago.
Bruyako and Shuk combined for 19 kills, while the Cardinals said an emotional goodbye to senior libero
Ashlyn Leon and her decorated four-year run at Otterbein…
Leon, who received a loud ovation during the post-match medal ceremony, culminates her career ranked eighth all-time in Ohio Athletic Conference history with 2,146 digs. She led all players with 21 in her final outing, marking the 124th in a Cardinal uniform. Only two players have ever appeared in more volleyball matches at Otterbein.
Julia Vermilion added 13 digs in the back row for Otterbein, while Chicago finished with a 14-7 blocking advantage and committed five-less service errors. Temilade Adekoya posted 11 kills to lead the Maroons, who will be playing in their first regional final come Sunday afternoon.
Chicago will square off with No. 4-ranked Carthage Sunday afternoon in the regional final, surely to be another high-level showdown.
