WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The No. 23-ranked Otterbein volleyball team picked itself back up Saturday afternoon following a disappointing last week of competition, getting back into the win column by sweeping a home tri-match with rival Capital and then Hiram.

Otterbein concludes the regular season with a 22-4 overall record, and 7-2 within the Ohio Athletic Conference after sweeping Capital. The Cards finish in a three-way tie for second place in the standings with Mount Union and Muskingum…

However, the Cardinals will emerge to receive the No. 2 seed in next week's postseason tournament after winning the second tiebreaker scenario. All three teams beat one another, but Otterbein had the most sets won (5) within the trio.

Otterbein receives a bye in the six-team tournament (new format) and will host a semifinal match Thursday night, against the winner of John Carroll and Muskingum.

VS. CAPITAL (W 25-20, 25-14, 25-19)
Otterbein began the day by defeating its rival for the 10th-straight time. The Cardinals led just 2018 in the first set before ending strong, and then opened leads of 11-4 and 20-9 in the middle frame.

Capital, behind former Otterbein assistant and now first-year head coach Nikki Van Cleave, continued fighting admirably and threw its best punch in the third. The artist formerly known as the Crusaders (now the Comets) took an 8-3 lead early and then also stood on top at 16-13 heading down the stretch…

Otterbein eventually kicked into gear, embarking on a 12-3 run to close the day and earn the sweep. The Cards hit .320 as a team compared to just .069 for the opposition.

Fittingly, seniors Julia Vermilion and Emma Linehan combined for 26 kills to lead the way. The duo was recognized before first serve for their contributions to the program… which now includes a combined 87-23 record since arrival. Amber Greeley added a clean 8-0-8 line before resting in the third set.

VS. HIRAM (W 25-22, 19-25, 25-23, 25-18)
After a three-hour layoff between matches, the Cardinals worked through some tough moments to ultimately post a non-conference win against the Terriers. A tight first set saw Otterbein pull away late, but an energized Hiram squad found a groove in the second frame to deadlock the match.

The third set would be the most notable. It was all Terriers early, as the visiting side was lively in building a 20-12 lead. Multiple Otterbein hitters then caught fire to spark a wild comeback, flipping that deficit into a 23-23 tie. Consecutive kills from Morgan Hartman would culminate the raucous stretch as the Cards snatched ALL momentum.

The full-throttle atmosphere carried over into the fourth set, as the Rike Center remained high energy behind the men's basketball team in the end-zone bleachers. Otterbein ballooned a 13-6 lead to begin and never looked back, riding the wave to victory.

Hartman went 21-8-36 (.361) on the outside while Vermilion added another 14. Setter Carlie Craycaft was the head of the offensive snake once again, distributing 52 assists and keeping the group intact during critical moments.

Bridget Oder and Amanda Troyer combined for 28 digs on the back line, with Hiram hitting just .121 in the final set.