DELAWARE, Ohio – It was a tough night inside Branch Rickey Arena for the Otterbein volleyball team on Wednesday night, as the Cards dropped a tight four-set contest with host Ohio Wesleyan by final counts of 21-25, 23-25, 25-22, 21-25.

OWU snaps a five-match skid to Otterbein in the overall series between the nearby schools, separated by just 18 miles. The Bishops are now 7-2 this fall.

Morgan Hartman registered a double-double for the Cardinals with a rather efficient hitting line of 17-4-43 (.302) across the evening, while also tallying 13 digs in the process. She led all players in kills.

Teammates Kennedy Hoffman and Maddie Mergen combined for 27 behind her. Setter Olivia Vitaz joined Hartman in the double-double group with 39 assists and 13 digs.

Both sides combined for 18 service errors on the night, with Ohio Wesleyan hitting .218 as opposed to a .158 clip on the Otterbein side of the net.

Melissa Murray hit 15-3-29 (.414) for the home side, which had a healthy 18 block assists led by eight from Clare Solberg.

The Cards trailed 22-21 in the opening set before OWU rattled off three in a row. Otterbein then trailed 21-17 in the second frame, rallied back to knot the score at 23-23, and ran out of gas in the closing points that finished with a ball handling error.

Otterbein led the entire third set but had to fight off a raucous push late from OWU, which nearly climbed out of a 21-12 deficit. A 5-0 run by the Bishops trimmed the margin to 24-22 before a service error allowed the Cards to remain alive and switch benches.

Ohio Wesleyan regrouped to finish the deal in the fourth, creating some breathing room after a 17-16 score and then holding off an Otterbein team that still only trailed 23-21. But OWU eventually found a punctuating kill to close things out.

Otterbein will need to regroup quickly with another challenging, out-of-state tournament on deck. The Cards will play four matches at Centre this weekend, including No. 14 Berry and returning NCAA qualifying team Millikin.