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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein volleyball team held its own against some challenging competition Saturday afternoon inside the Rike Center, welcoming Mount Union, Transylvania and Carnegie Mellon for a quad-match setting.

The four teams entered with a combined record of 52-9 on the season, and all four schools showed impressive moments as all parties finished the event with a 1-1 record.

The Cardinals began the day against No. 12-ranked Carnegie Mellon in front of a nice crowd, overcoming a first-set loss to rally and secure a notable win by counts of 13-25, 25-20, 25-19, 26-24.

Not much went right for Otterbein in that opening frame, but the group settled in to rally from a 14-10 hole midway through the second. The Cards delivered an 8-1 scoring spurt to take control and ultimately even the match.

The third game was tied, 9-9, before Otterbein found some breathing room with a quick 5-0 run. Carnegie Mellon only trailed 19-17 down the stretch but a balanced Cardinal offense received three kills from three different players, culminating with a service ace from setter Carlie Craycraft.

The Tartans (13-3) appeared ready to force a winner-take-all showdown after leading most of the fourth set, which also saw ties at 8, 9, 10, 12, 15 and 16 before Carnegie Mellon stood on top, 19-17. Otterbein found momentum by winning four-straight points, taking a 21-19 lead before the matchup became all squared up again at 23-23 and 24-24.

Carnegie Mellon burned its last timeout in the deadlock, but handed the Cardinals a pair of attacking errors in the final moments as Otterbein escaped. Emily Shuk delivered a line of 14-2-27 (.444) while Tate Eppard ripped off a match-high 15 kills. Dasha Bruyako added 11 herself while Craycraft distributed 40 helpers.

Otterbein then had about a 45-minute beak before taking on another nationally-ranked foe, this time in the form of No. 18 Transylvania. The Pioneers, which had just dropped a four-setter with Mount Union, rebounded to narrowly sweep the Cardinals by final scores of 25-15, 26-24, 26-24.

Transy (14-3) controlled the opening set but the next two frames could not have been any closer. Otterbein held an early 5-1 lead in the second before a 9-2 Pioneer run gave the visitors some control.

The Pioneers led 19-15 down the backstretch but Otterbein didn't go anywhere, eventually clawing back to grab a 23-22 lead after a Transy attacking error. Transylvania benefited from a Cardinal service error on the next point and fed outside hitter Joran Horne for a pair of kills to break open a 24-24 tie.

Otterbein led most of the third set, holding leads of 7-3, 14-10 and even 19-14 as the Cards looked ready to force a fourth set. Transy countered with a 4-0 spurt as the game would see ties at 22, 23 and 24. Once again, the Pioneers finished off with two timely kills that secured the competitive victory.

Transylvania hit .290 for the match compared to just a .163 output for the Cardinals. Shuk led the way with nine kills, and a final offensive line of 9-2-19, while Eppard and freshman Amber Greely combined for 15 kills and both hit .333 individually.

Libero Ashlyn Leon had 17 kills in the back for Otterbein, which now stands 14-3 on the season and will return to action next Friday in the Rike Center. The Cards will welcome back Mount Union to begin Ohio Athletic Conference play at 7 p.m.