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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The No. 17-ranked Otterbein volleyball team kicked off its season with a sweep Thursday night in the Rike Center, overcoming a slow start to beat a pesky Ohio Wesleyan team in three sets.

The Cardinals trailed midway through the first set before working back and taking the night by counts of 25-20, 25-17, 25-18. As a result, Otterbein tops OWU for the tenth time in the last 11 meetings.

Otterbein came out sluggish to begin the night, trailing 17-12 midway through the initial set before kicking into gear with a 6-0 run. Ties at 18, 19 and 20 ensued… but the Cards won another five-straight points to notch the frame.

Both sides jockeyed for momentum to begin the second, finding deadlocks at 10, 11, and 12 before yet another 6-0 run (behind the serve of Amanda Troyer) from the home side created separation. Otterbein kept the Bishops at arm's length to culminate the set.

Ohio Wesleyan took a 10-7 lead in the third, but a resilient Cardinal bunch stayed the course and delivered a 12-5 run as the difference-making stretch. OWU temporarily stopped the bleeding with two points in the service game… until the Cards finished the night on a 6-0 run that saw a bit of everything.

Senior Amber Greely was impressive from the right side, hitting a clean 14-0-20 (.700) to launch her final season with a bang. Junior Morgan Hartman led all players with 17 kills while promising youngsters Kennedy Hoffman and Maddie Mergen combined for another 12 smacks.

Reigning OAC Player of the Year Carlie Craycraft (32 assists) directed an offense that hit .346 collectively while senior classmate Bridget Oder (22 digs) played a key role from her libero spot in limiting the Bishops to just a .160 percentage.

Melissa Murray paced Ohio Wesleyan with nine kills.

Otterbein will get right back into action this weekend, traveling up north for three matches at the Mount Union Invitational across Friday and Saturday.