FULL ALL-OAC TEAMS
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Five Otterbein University volleyball players garnered spots on the 2021 All-Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Team Monday morning, as voted on over the weekend by the coaches and announced through the league office.
The Cardinals landed a pair of repeat first-team honorees in the form of junior setter
Carlie Craycraft and sophomore outside hitter
Morgan Hartman, with Craycraft earning prestigious OAC Player of the Year honors as well. She becomes the first setter to receive the award outright in 15 years, since Angie Camp (Baldwin Wallace) claimed the status back in 2006.
* Ohio Northern setters Ashley Borchers (2016) and Katie (Kuhn) Weininger (2008) shared the honor during their respective seasons. Kuhn is now the head coach of the Polar Bears and was named Coach of the Year by her peers.
In addition… junior right side
Amber Greeley was voted second team All-OAC while seniors
Julia Vermilion and
Emma Linehan received honorable mention.
Craycraft (Marion/Pleasant) is now the fourth Otterbein player to ever be named Player of the Year, joining a list that includes Morgan Lowenkamp, Hadley Sterett and Tate Eppard. All have occurred in the last five seasons.
Craycraft ranks second nationally right now with 11.25 assists per set, directing one of the most potent offenses in all of NCAA Division III this season. The Cardinals entered last week top-10 nationally with a hitting percentage over .250 collectively.
Otterbein caught fire with Craycraft at the reins this fall by rattling off a 19-match winning streak and also claiming 48-consecutive sets, the seventh-longest streak in D3 history. The puppet master had 60 assists in a five-set thriller over Augsburg to begin the season and another 51 in four sets at nationally-ranked Ohio Northern.
In addition to her setting, Craycraft ranked top five in the conference for service aces (0.43/set) and also came up with 150 digs. She had kills to punctuate the second and third sets of the OAC Tournament semifinal victory against Muskingum.
Hartman (Lancaster/Fairfield Union) now has another first-team award on her resume after leading the league in kills once again at a healthy 3.85 per set. She has ranked among the top 35-40 nationally most of this season in the category…
The powerful outside hitter had seven matches with 17 or more kills, including a career-high 28 vs. Augsburg and another 18 during a critical win over Mount Union. In addition to her work offensively, Hartman ranked third in the league in serving (0.49 aces per set) and also holds exactly 200 digs to her credit.
Greeley (Lima/Shawnee) becomes a 2x selection after another nice season, finishing third in the OAC in hitting percentage (.341), seventh in total blocks (61) and tenth in kills per set (2.98 rips). The towering 6-foot-3 weapon had double-digit kills in nine outings, including 16 in notable wins over Augsburg and Denison.
Vermilion (Pickerington/North) is a repeat selection to the honorable-mention squad. The do-it-all veteran played around the rotation, settling 13th in the league at a solid 2.76 kills per set and also finishing second on the team in digs. She had 252 overall, equating to 2.71 per frame.
At the moment, Vermilion stands with over 700 kills and 700 digs for her career. The reigning OAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player has contributed 11 matches this season in double-digit kills.
Linehan (Powell/Worthington Christian) earns the first All-OAC honor of her career in deserving fashion, leading the league and ranking top-25 nationally for the second year in a row in hitting percentage. She hit .376 up the middle, notching double-digit kills in five of the last nine matches. On top of her hitting, Linehan finished ninth in the conference for total blocks (57).
Otterbein stands 23-5 this fall, earning the No. 2 seed in the OAC Tournament and ultimately taking runner-up to Ohio Northern.
