TOURNAMENT PAGE

NEW CONCORD, Ohio – The redemption tour for the Otterbein volleyball team continued Thursday evening inside a raucous and rowdy Anne C. Steele Center on the campus of No. 11-ranked Muskingum, where the Cardinals blitzed the host and second-seeded Muskies in straight sets during semifinal action of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament.

Otterbein, seeded third in the eight-team bracket, returned to New Concord after recently dropping an emotional four-set contest back on October 26. This time around, the Cardinals would leave little doubt in the outcome with a decisive 25-21, 25-15, 25-19 victory to silence the home crowd and snap Muskingum's 13-match winning streak.

"We definitely spoke about being prepared for the environment tonight," head coach Monica Wright said afterward. "I thought we came out really well and that neutralized the atmosphere. It became an advantage for us the entire night."

With the result, Otterbein (25-5) advances to the OAC Championship match at top-seeded Ohio Northern this coming Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. The winner will receive the league's automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA Tournament.

Otterbein set the tone early at Muskingum, leading the entire first set and turning a slim 18-17 lead into a 22-18 advantage. The Muskies got to within 22-21 before three-straight attacking errors.

The hosts led 7-5 to begin the second before Otterbein took control again, using an 11-4 scoring run to open a 16-11 lead and never look back. Muskingum, falling to 26-3 on the season, threw its best punch in a final set that saw ties at 13, 14, 15 and 16 midway through. The Cards then delivered a culminating 9-3 run to ignite an on-court celebration.

Emily Shuk led a very balanced Otterbein attack with nine kills while Tate Eppard, Amber Greeley and Dasha Bruyako all had seven each. Carlie Craycraft dished out 34 assists for an offense that hit .236 while the Muskies managed just a .088 effort.

"Our last few matches have resembled a total group effort, with four or five offensive players all posting even numbers," Wright added. "Carlie is doing a phenomenal job distributing the ball and hitters are taking advantage of their opportunities. That balance makes us hard to stop."

The Cards also had nine service aces compared to just two for Muskingum, which did receive a match-high 14 kills from Maddie McGee.

Otterbein will now look for a second victory in 12 days up at Ohio Northern after recently claiming a five-set thriller. The two schools also met in the 2017 tournament final in Westerville.