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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – A wild and action-packed Saturday on campus was centered around the nationally-ranked volleyball showdown between No. 12 Otterbein and No. 15 Muskingum inside the Rike Center, and neither side disappointed as the league leaders played to a doubleheader split.

The Cardinals opened the day by recognizing seniors Tate Eppard, Emily Shuk and Hillary Sterett (currently holding a combined 106-30 record as a senior class) for their contributions to the program. Those pregame festivities carried into Otterbein sweeping the opening match 3-0.

Muskingum rebounded to steal the first set of the rematch and ultimately salvage a split. Otterbein now stands 14-2 overall while the Muskies are 12-2. See down at the bottom for updated information on the league standings.

MATCH 1: (W 26-24, 25-22, 25-23)
All three sets were absolute dogfights, as the Cards flew out to a 5-0 lead but were forced to come from behind down the stretch. Trailing 23-21, Otterbein won three-straight points to jump in front and then ultimately emerge after a few extra points.

Otterbein opened a 6-1 lead in the second and never trailed, fighting off a few Muskie pushes and assuming a 2-0 match lead. Finishing the frame on a mini 7-4 spurt helped benefit the cause

Muskingum held a sizeable 10-2 lead in the third before the scrappy Cardinals began chipping away. Otterbein turned a 12-5 deficit into a 14-13 lead and went toe-to-toe down the homestretch.

The Muskies led 22-0 until the Cards found momentum, punctuating the sweep on a service ace from Carlie Craycraft.

Morgan Hartman exploded for a hitting line of 21-5-39 (.410) on the outside while Julia Vermilion had 11 kills. The Cards hit .283 as a team around 34 helpers from Craycraft, and saw Tasia Lauth get in on parts of six blocks defensively.

MATCH 2: (L 24-26, 25-15, 17-25, 22-25)
Otterbein appeared primed for another early lead in the second affair, leading the first set 22-20 before Muskingum rallied to force ties at 22, 23 and 24. A pair of points by the visitors then flipped the script and put Otterbein in an early hole.

The Cardinals comfortably controlled the second set, 25-15,  but the Muskies found a groove midway through the first frame to retake the lead. Otterbein also fell behind in the fourth and would be unable to fully catch up, trimming the gap to a two-point margin on multiple occasions but coming up just shy in the end.

Both teams hit over .250 in the rematch, but 17 kills from Maddie McGee helped ignite the Muskies. Hartman had another 16 on the Otterbein side while Vermilion and Greeley each posted 12.
Vermilion and Craycraft (38-17) both had double-doubles in the showdown. Sterett added 12 digs and five assists.

LOOKING AHEAD:
Otterbein will host nationally-ranked Ohio Northern (12-2) come Tuesday night in its regular-season finale. The Cardinals are two games ahead of both the Muskies and Polar Bears in the win column, but have played two more matches. A sweep for the Cardinals would guarantee at least a share of the regular-season crown.