DELAWARE, Ohio – Otterbein continued its winning ways on the volleyball floor over the weekend at the Bishop Invitational, hosted inside Branch Rickey Arena by Ohio Wesleyan across Friday and Saturday.

The Cardinals, sweeping a trio of matches, improve their winning streak to nine after finishing with a notable triumph against No. 20-ranked Transylvania. Otterbein now holds a 10-2 record this fall.

FRIDAY NIGHT VS. DEFIANCE (W 3-0):

Otterbein turned in a methodical, workmanlike sweep against the Yellow Jackets, ultimately winning by scores of 25-17, 25-11, 25-18. Amber Greeley hit 13-2-22 while middle Emma Linehan went a clean 6-0-12.

The Cardinal offense hit .277 as a group while holding Defiance to just an .055 output. Defiance did its best to avoid the sweep, trailing just 19-17 in the third, before Otterbein was just too much.

SATURDAY MORNING VS. ANDERSON (W 3-0):

The Cards picked right back up where they left, prevailing in some breakfast ball by smooth counts of 25-12, 25-15, 25-19. The third set featured a late 17-17 deadlock, but Otterbein pulled away once again.

Morgan Hartman finished unscathed with a hitting line of 13-0-25 (.520) while Greeley and Madison McCoy combined for another 15 between themselves.

Setter Carlie Craycraft recorded 32 helpers while a trio of Cardinals came up with double-digit digs; Bridget Oder (17), Julia Vermilion (12) and Alex VanHorssen (11).

SATURDAY AFTERNOON VS. #20 TRANSYLVANIA (W 3-0):

A culminating showdown against the nationally-ranked Pioneers ended up being one-sided, as the Cardinals kept grooving en route to their seventh-consecutive sweep dating back to last week.
Otterbein emerged by scores of 25-16, 25-19, 25-21 behind a balanced effort and key runs. An 8-1 spurt in the first set allowed them to settle into an early lead, followed by 7-1 run midway through the next frame.

The third seat featured ties at 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20, but Otterbein had one last push to create some room and finish the Super Saturday.

Hartman (16), Vermilion (12) and Greeley (11) all charted double-digit kills while McCoy hit an efficient 7-1-11 around the middle. Craycraft averaged 13 assists per set as the team hit a blazing .398 overall. Craycraft and Hartman landed on the All-Tournament Team for their efforts.

WHAT SHE SAID:

"I thought it was the best we played all year," head coach Monica Wright said. "We finally started to flow and play with some real confidence. A lot of kids put together some really solid performances around the court."

"We've had some matches where we have grown, and other where maybe we were just happy to get a win and keep moving," Wright said when asked about the winning streak. "We just want to focus on becoming the best team we can by mid-October."
 
UP NEXT:

Otterbein will head back over to Ohio Wesleyan for a non-conference match with the Bishops next week, before launching Ohio Athletic Conference play the following Wednesday (9/29) at Baldwin Wallace.