DELAWARE, Ohio – The Otterbein volleyball team stayed hot over another strong weekend, winning all four matches spanning Friday and Saturday at Ohio Wesleyan's Bishop Invitational.
The Cards won a rematch with Defiance in four sets, swept Ohio Wesleyan and a non-conference showdown with Wilmington in the middle, and then culminated with another four-set victory over Kalamazoo.
As a result, Otterbein now stands at 12-1 overall on the season with its only loss coming at the hands of No. 8-ranked Chicago. The Cards will look to continue the momentum next week, returning to the Rike Center and hosting matches with Kenyon and No. 14 Wittenberg.
Otterbein used group efforts throughout four balanced matches, as freshman setter
Carlie Craycraft handed out 45 assists to a variety of hitters in the Defiance contest. Juniors
Emily Shuk and
Dasha Bruyako combined for 24 kills while classmate
Tate Eppard just missed double figures with nine.
The Cards made quick work of host OWU in Friday's nightcap by scores of 25-21, 25-16, 25-20 behind 14 kills from Eppard and another 10 from Shuk. Craycraft finished with 38 helpers.
Saturday's action picked up in the late morning with a 25-13, 25-20, 25-15 triumph over Wilmington, which was not played as a league match. A pair of youngsters led the way as sophomore
Emma Linehan and freshman
Tasia Lauth both tallied 10 kills up front.
Kate Fisher and
Bridget Oder teamed for 25 digs in the back.
Otterbein culminated with the Kalamazoo victory in four very close sets, ultimately settling by counts of 25-21, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22. Craycraft delivered a season-high 54 dimes while Shuk notched a new career-high with an impressive 19 kills. She went 19-4-45 for a .333 hitting percentage, was ultimately named the weekend's Most Valuable Player, and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Eppard.
Lauth registered 16 of her own and a .323 mark while Eppard blasted another 11. Craycraft had a double-double by also posting 11 digs defensively, where
Ashlyn Leon led the way with 13. Craycraft had a combined 158 across the four matches, continuing the nice start to her college career.
Both home matches next week are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
