DANVILLE, Ky. – It was a crisp opening day for Otterbein down in the Bluegrass State, as the Cardinals won a pair of four-set matches to begin the Centre College Classic.

The Cardinals secured a pair of notable wins in nicely bouncing back from mid-week defeat, taking down Brimingham-Southern in the afternoon and then returning NCAA Regional team Millikin later on in the nightcap.

Otterbein, getting back to 5-5 this season, returns to the court for a pair of matches tomorrow.
------
BIRMINGHAM-SOUTHERN RECAP (W 3-1):

The Cards took down BSC for the second year in a row, this time coming by scores of 28-26, 20-25, 25-19, 25-16. Kennedy Hoffman led a resounding offensive effort with a hitting line of 17-4-33.

A wild first set featured Otterbein leading 21-18 until a lightning 6-1 run tossed the Panthers into set point, 24-22. The Cards admirably flew back to force extra points with ties at 24, 25 and 26 before securing two in a row.

BSC led practically the entire second set, ahead just 13-12 midway through before creating separation to leads of 20-15 and 24-19. Otterbein was unable to catch up there as the match became even, but certainly regrouped to steal back the show…

Otterbein never trailed in a third frame that saw it balloon an 11-9 lead into an 18-11 advantage, before coasting. A similar scene would play out in the fourth, opening leads of 10-5 and 18-10 down the homestretch.

Setters Olivia Vitaz and Kailey Misher combined for 44 assists up front while Madison McCoy, the reigning OAC Offensive Player of the Week, delivered a 12-2-21 effort to hit .476 in the middle.
-----
MILLIKIN RECAP (W 3-1):

A matchup of returning NCAA qualifiers was on the menu for a late dinner, as the Cards and Big Blue reconvened after both competing in the regional last year up in Michigan. Despite dropping the second set again, Otterbein gathered itself for another triumph on line counts of 25-22, 21-25, 29-27, 25-19.

Hoffman was incredibly efficient again by smacking a 15-3-29 (.414) around the court, hitting above .400 for the night as a whole. Morgan Hartman led all players with 21 kills to accompany 11 digs, her second double-double of the fall.

The opener saw multiple lead changes before Otterbein clung to a 22-21 lead. Three kills from three different players then helped push the Cards into an early match lead. The Big Blue led wire-to-wire in the second and knotted the contest back up.

A pivotal (and lengthy) third set wound up in extra points after a slew of ties and mini leads throughout, as neither side led by more than two until Otterbein was ahead 24-21. Millikin made it very interesting with three-straight points and was ultimately serving for the set up 27-26. The Cards held strong with a gritty stretch of play, receiving consecutive kills from Hartman and surviving on an attacking error from the Big Blue.

The fourth set was more of the same, jockeying back and forth, until Otterbein created a 22-17 cushion late. Millikin didn't have much left in the tank as Hoffman soon punctuated the night with a final rope.

Mishler and Vitaz combined for another 48 assists while guiding the 6-2 offense, which hit .291 across the full slate of action. Three Cards had double-digit digs and libero Amanda Troyer rocketed four service aces.
-----
Otterbein gets right back on the court Saturday with matches against No. 14-ranked Berry and then host Centre, on the docket for 1:30 and 4 p.m.