ALLIANCE, Ohio – It was a day filled with emotions, achievements and momentum swings at Mount Union, as the Otterbein volleyball team overcame a tough start inside the McPherson Academic and Athletic Complex to earn some notable pieces of history.

The Cardinals, falling behind 0-2 against the Purple Raiders, admirably rallied to claim sets three/four handily before escaping the winner-take-all fifth by a few points. After the dust cleared, it was the nationally-ranked visitors standing on top by overall counts of 22-25, 21-25, 25-14, 25-14, 15-12.

THE HEADLINES:

* Otterbein officially secures its third Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular-season title as a result, but wins it outright for the first time in program history after sharing with Ohio Northern in both 2017 and 2018.

* The Cardinals (21-5, 8-1 OAC) finish two wins clear from the pack and will be the top seed in next week's six-team postseason tournament. A bye will get the team through Tuesday quarterfinals before hosting the winner of Mount Union/Marietta come Thursday night in a semifinal at 7 p.m.

* Adding to the headlines was junior outside hitter Morgan Hartman moving over 1,000 kills for her college career, becoming the ninth player in program history to do so after hitting the milestone in the fourth set. She accomplishes the feat in roughly two and a half years of sample size, considering the shortened CoVID schedule during her freshman season.

THE SCRIPT:

* Mount Union claimed the opening set after breaking open a 20-19 score, and carried that momentum over into leading the entire second. The Cards were only down 19-17 late until the Raiders punctuated the frame with another nice run.

* Down but not out, the beast finally woke up. Otterbein blitzed the hosts in each of the next two frames, taking a 20-11 advantage in the third and a 15-5 edge to begin the fourth.

* That translated into the decisive "race" to 15 points, where Mount regrouped to find itself leading 7-3 midway through. But Otterbein still had something left in the tank in rattling off a key 7-1 stretch, jumping ahead by two points before a timely kill from Kennedy Hoffman and service aces from Aubrey Geis provided breathing room.

THE BOX SCORE:

• Senior Carlie Craycraft handed out 54 assists, her second most of the season, and now moves over 4,100 for her career as she continues inching closer toward Otterbein's all-time record of 4,179.
   
• Hoffman led all players with 19 kills while Hartman (16) and Amber Greeley (15) were right there swing for swing. Madison McCoy (9) and Geis (8) contributed nicely as well for a well-rounded attack.
   
• Emerging libero Amanda Troyer racked up a career-high 33 digs in the shirt for yet another balanced defensive effort. Hartman (17) and Craycraft (16) both had impressive double-doubles while Grace Ganz and converted setter Kailey Mishler combined for another 18.
   
• Otterbein had 11 services aces compared to just four on the Mount Union side, with Craycraft enjoying three herself.
   
• Heaven Bartell had 12 kills as the only Mount Union player in double digits.
   
• The Cardinals win a fifth-straight matchup in the series.