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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein Volleyball took care of business in the first round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday night, taking down the visiting Blue Streaks of John Carroll University in three straight sets, 25-17, 25-20, 25-17.

The Cardinals, the two seed in the tournament, will advance to host the third seed Baldwin Wallace after they knocked off Mount Union in the first round.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Cardinals controlled the first set the entire way and led by as much as seven at 21-14. The Blue Streaks were able to tie the set a couple of times throughout, but the strong Cardinal attack led by setter Carlie Craycraft always had an answer. Otterbein took set one by a final of 25-17 behind 15 assists from Craycraft and a set-high five kills by Emma Linehan.

John Carroll took its first lead of the game in the second set, pulling ahead 11-10 before Otterbein ripped off a 7-3 run. JCU climbed back into the set though and tied it back up at 17 before the Cardinals scored five unanswered. Otterbein eventually won the set 25-20, but JCU refused to go down without a fight.

In set three the Cardinals jumped out to an early 10-4 lead and it looked like they were going to run away with things. The Blue Streaks once again kept chipping away though and eventually pulled themselves to within two, 17-15. Another huge run by Otterbein all but won the game though as the Cardinals scored six unanswered and finished off the night with another 25-17 win in set three.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• The Cardinals held an advantage in all statistical categories, most notably recording seven aces compared to just two for JCU.
   
• Otterbein also dished out 46 helpers, 44 coming from Craycraft, compared to just 22 for the Streaks.
   
• Morgan Hartman recorded a team-high 11 kills while Linehan and Amber Greeley both added 10 of their own.
   

ON TO THE SEMIFINALS:
Otterbein will host the third seed Baldwin Wallace on Thursday night, game time is set for 7 p.m.