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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – It had practically everything – long rallies, punches, counterpunches, rowdy fans, dynamic runs, controversial calls and more. Those paying the price of admission certainly got their money's worth after watching Otterbein and Marietta go toe-to-toe in an exciting semifinal volleyball showdown of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament.

The top-seeded Cardinals, playing on their home court after a bye through the quarterfinals, managed to win key points and crucial times in besting the Pioneers (19-9) for a second time in eight days. Otterbein emerged on narrow counts of 25-21, 26-28, 25-22, 26-24 en route to making the league championship match for a fourth year in a row.

Marietta likely ends its season despite a stellar turnaround, completely flipping last year's 5-19 record behind a young nucleus that did everything it could to make a title push of its own.

Nevertheless, the No. 18-ranked Cardinals run their winning streak to eight and now stand a crisp 22-5 on the year. They will host second seed John Carroll come Saturday afternoon with an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships on the line.

THE SCRIPT:

• Neither team led by more than a few points during the entire set, with Otterbein clinging to leads of 19-18 and 22-21 after momentum swings on each side. The Cards would eventually hit a groove to win three-straight points in crunch time behind kills from Amber Greeley and Morgan Hartman.
   
• Otterbein led 8-3 in the second frame before Marietta found some nice rhythm, using a brief run midway through to later hold a 21-17 lead. The Cards soared right back to deadlock at 21-21 the Pios countered to go ahead 24-21, and Otterbein responded once again to knot the board at 24-24.  After two more ties, Marietta would even the match behind consecutive rips from standout Maggie Fellers.
   
• Marietta used that energy to lead 8-1 in the third set before Otterbein inched its way back, although the visitors regrouped nicely to still lead 19-15 down the stretch. But senior Amber Greeley put the team on her back with six kills over the latter portion of the frame, helping the group strike an 8-1 run when it mattered most to vault ahead 23-20. The Pioneers briefly won a pair of points before Otterbein snagged the last two.
   
• A pesky Marietta bunch then jumped out to a seemingly nice 16-10 lead in the fourth, appearing primed to force a winner-take-all fifth. But Otterbein had other plans in mind behind the energy of its home crowd, hanging close enough to ultimately flip a 20-17 deficit into a 22-20 lead…
   
• The visitors regrouped in the hostile environment and refused to go quietly, gaining set point at 24-23 to force a Cardinal timeout. Otterbein drew up a dipsy-doo play for Madison McCoy on the right side, and the junior delivered with a smack that hit the hardwood to force extra points. A service ace from Carlie Craycraft, followed by a culminating points from Kennedy Hoffman on a broken play that featured McCoy keeping things alive, would result in the emphatic ending.

 
BOX SCORE NOTABLES:

• Despite some insanely long rallies, both sides wound up hitting over .220 for the evening as a whole. The match saw a combined 359 hitting attempts.
   
• Greeley was a monster during various stretches en route to a line of 21-3-47, hitting .383 for the night and posting a new career-high in kills. She had 20 as a sophomore during a five-set match with Ohio Northern.  
   
• Craycraft dished out 50+ assists for the fourth time this year to accompany 19 digs for an impactful double-double. She now holds 4,161 dimes for her career and is just 18 shy of Andrea Miller's all-time program record.
   
• Four other Cardinals registered between 7-10 kills, with McCoy and Hartman reaching double digits.
   
• Amanda Troyer continued her strong play in the libero jersey with another 26 digs while launching a match-high in service aces (4). Hartman tied a season-best with 18 digs herself while Kailey Misher and Grace Ganz combined for another 16. At one point, Mishler dug up a few missles that could have shredded the earth's core.
   
• Jillian Fellers had a mammoth double-double of 27 digs and 20 kills for Marietta, which also received 48 assists from OAC Freshma of the Year Emory Spitler.

 
CHAMPIONSHIP SATURDAY:

• Otterbein is looking to claim its fourth tournament crown in the last 10 years while John Carroll, picked eighth in the OAC preseason poll, hopes to further a whirlwind campaign. JCU edged Muskingum in five sets during its semifinal match.