It wasn't quite the varsity competition typically displayed inside the Rike Center, but the Otterbein volleyball program still managed to get back on the hardwood Wednesday night for a long-awaited intra-squad exhibition.
In a "best of three" format, the Cardinal team ultimately ended up emerging with a 2-1 victory over the Tan squad. The two sides then played a fourth set to 15 points, where the Tan side drew even with a nice come-from-behind rally.
The opening frame was all Cardinal team, which jumped out to an early lead behind reigning OAC Freshman of the Year
Carlie Craycraft (setter), and never looked back to claim a 25-14 triumph.
The Tan side admirably responded in a second set that featured 11 different ties. Junior middle
Emma Linehan (5-0-7) caught fire in the stretch as her lineup narrowly emerged 25-22.
A winner-take-all third set found three separate deadlocks before Cardinal pulled away again, this time prevailing 25-17.
An exhibition within the exhibition capped the evening as the group played a fourth set to 15 points. Cardinal flew out of the gate with a 5-0 advantage to force a timeout, but Tan regrouped nicely to later draw even (11-11) and force another stoppage. In the end, a balanced offensive attack helped Tan post a 15-13 culmination and salvage a de facto split.
Linehan (Tan) and
Julia Vermilion (Cardinal) both finished with a match-high 10 kills while junior classmate
Kate Fisher ripped off another nine. Vermilion also recorded 10 digs to notch a double-double.
Sophomore
Anna Donner tallied 14 digs and eight kills for Tan, which received a match-best 21 digs from classmate
Bridget Oder on the back line. Counterpart libero
Hillary Sterett had 17 for Cardinal.
Freshman
Kailey Mishler handled setting duties for the Tan side, dishing out 33 helpers, while Craycraft distributed 30 on her side of the net.
See full box score below!
Otterbein is tentatively scheduled to play another exhibition format next week before heading into the holiday break. The spring Ohio Athletic Conference schedule is then slated to commence on March 12 at Mount Union.
