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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinals made it a clean sweep Saturday morning to complete varsity action during the 2021 Pam Briggs Fall Classic, catching momentum in the third set to blank Case Western Reserve in the Rike Center.

Otterbein, now 6-2 on the season, moves its winning streak to five matches after prevailing by final scores of 25-20, 25-16, 25-15. The Spartans now sit 3-4 on the fall campaign.

The first set was the most tightly-contested, seeing ties at 15, 16, 18 and 19 before the Cards found some breathing room. A 6-1 run ended the frame, capped by a service ace from Bridget Oder.

Otterbein carried that edge into the second set, embarking on an 11-2 run midway through to pull away nicely. CWRU did fight off four-straight set points before running out of steam.

Case Western jumped all over Otterbein early in the third, holding a 10-4 advantage until the Cardinals kicked into first gear. A wild 18-1 scoring run, behind the serve of Carlie Craycraft, ignited the home crowd and pushed the Cards to triumph.

Craycraft was in a giving mood with 35 assists, spread around to a handful of capable hitters. Julia Vermilion had 10 kills while Amber Greeley and Morgan Hartman ripped off nine each.

The Cardinal defense limited Case Western into hitting -.067 for the match, as libero Bridget Oder had 12 digs and Hartman came up with 10. Vermilion, Greeley and Oder were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts.

Otterbein will get back on the road early next week, traveling to Gambier for a match with Kenyon at 7 p.m.