HOLLAND, Mich. – After a loss Friday evening, Otterbein regrouped mightily to deliver a standout Saturday of competition at the Hope College Tournament inside DeVos Fieldhouse.

The Cardinals, ranked No. 11 in the latest AVCA poll to begin the week, overcame a four-set loss to No. 5 Calvin by sweeping a pair of notable matches with Elmhurst and the No. 9-ranked/host Flying Dutch.

ELMHURST RECAP (W 3-2):
Otterbein was forced to come from behind in a wild morning matchup, barely dropping the first/third sets but rallying when it mattered most. In the end, the Cards would survive by scores of 27-29, 26-24, 22-25, 25-16, 16-14.

The Cardinals had three set points to begin the day at 24-22, 24-23 and 25-24. But the Blue Jays stayed alive and ultimately broke a 27-27 deadlock with consecutive points.

Otterbein trailed early in the second but chipped away, and eventually found a 6-0 run midway through the frame to open a 20-15 lead. Elmhurst threw the next punch and somehow drew even at both 23-23 and 24-24. The Cards would hold on this time with a kill from Morgan Hartman followed by an Emily Skelley ace.

The Blue Jays led 16-11 in the third before Otterbein climbed back to lock up at 22-22, but the momentum would stall out as Elmhurt captured the next three points to regain a match lead. The Cards, however, geared up to dominate the fourth set by expanding a 6-5 margin into a lopsided 22-12 edge.

A service ace by Carlie Craycraft began the decisive frame and Otterbein suddenly led 4-1, until Elmhurst settled in ultimately held leads of 11-9 and 13-11. The Cards would force ties at 13 and 14 before the Blue Jays had match point at 15-14.

With their backs against the wall, Craycraft went to Amber Greeley for consecutive kills and then a rope down the middle from Madison McCoy after a lengthy rally would seal the deal.

Otterbein hit .261 as an offense while Elmhurst was only at a .148 percentage, but was forced to overcome 17 service errors. The Blue Jays only missed eight serves on the other side.

Five Cardinals had eight or more kills, paced by the usual suspects of Hartman (18), Greeley (14) and Hoffman (11). McCoy had nine while sophomore middle Aubrey Geis contributed efficiently with a line of 8-1-12 (.583).

Craycraft had 48 assists while Bridget Oder (15), Hartman (14) and Amanda Troyer (13) combined for an almost even 42 digs defensively.

HOPE RECAP (W 3-0):
The Cards put an exclamation mark on the weekend during the afternoon session, blanking the Flying Dutch in resounding fashion by scores of 25-23, 25-18, 25-16.

Hope led 22-20 in the first set before Otterbein flew back to escape, winning five of the next six points and benefiting from a pair of opponent attacking errors to culminate.

The second was knotted 14-14 before the Cards found another gear, using a quick 5-0 run to create separation and double up their match advantage. The third set would be more one-sided as Otterbein created leads of 13-6 and 21-11.

Hartman ripped off 17 kills while Greeley (13-1-23) finished with a lightning .522 percentage on the right side. Otterbein committed just two service errors this time around.

Five player amassed double-digit digs while Craycraft tossed around another 40 helpers.

Hope went 25-5 last year (and also made the NCAA Sweet 16) before losing to eventual national champion Wisconsin-Eau Claire. This time around, they hit just .203 and had only one player over six kills.

NEXT WEEK:
The Cardinals will get back home and then travel around Ohio for three total matches; Kenyon midweek over in Gambier and then the Mount St. Joseph Tri-Match next Friday evening.