WESTERVILLE — The Otterbein volleyball team swept Denison on Tuesday evening, winning 25-15, 25-21, 25-21 for its third straight victory.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (11-5 overall), Denison (7-9 overall)
• Venue: Rike Center - Westerville, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Senior Kennedy Hoffman led Otterbein in kills with 11 while hitting .474. Senior Kristen Scherger and junior Maddie Mergen finished with six kills each.
• Senior Amanda Troyer, junior Olivia Vitaz and sophomores Makenzie Schellenberger and Ashley Kefauver led the team in digs with seven each.
• Vitaz tallied a team-best 20 assists to go with 13 from freshman Kaitlyn Schram.
• Troyer posted three service aces.
• Freshman Emerson Baum tallied a team-leading six total blocks.

Match Highlights

• The Cardinals started strong with an 11-6 lead in the first set, Mergen, Baum and Hoffman each took turns delivering kills to set the tone. Denison attempted to chip away at the home team's lead, but with key contributions from the trio, Otterbein stayed in control and comfortably took the first set 25-15.
• The Big Red kept the second set tight, with the score remaining within a two-point margin most of the way through. Locked in an 18-18 tie, Otterbein took control after a trickle battle to gain a three-point edge with crucial kills from Scherger and Hoffman, ultimately claiming the 25-21 victory.
• The third set showcased back-and-forth action with several tied scores, once again remaining within a two-point margin. The Cardinals prompted the Big Red to call a timeout after going on a 5-0 run that brought the score to 12-9. The Cardinals extended their lead to 20-14 before Denison climbed back to within three, 21-18. Denison answered kills from Otterbein senior Hope Cuppett and sophomore Lexi Scott with three straight points, making the score 23-21, but a Big Red service error and kill from Scott secured the victory for the Cardinals.
• Otterbein finished with 41 kills while hitting .258, and Denison finished with 27 kills while hitting .130.

Quote

• Senior Kennedy Hoffman: "All week, we've been working on pulling things together and being consistent, so getting some things cleaned up and gaining momentum and getting things to work on our side tonight felt really good, and we're excited to take that into our conference game on Friday."

Notables

• Tuesday marked Otterbein's first time back in action since defeating Kenyon on Sept. 26, as the Cardinals' matches against Adrian (Mich.) and Earlham (Ind.) in the Earlham Tri-Match on Sept. 27 were canceled due to a power outage.
• Otterbein is now 17-1 against Denison since 2009 with its only loss in that span coming in October 2015, when the Big Red defeated the Cardinals 3-1 in Granville. The Cardinals have now won eight straight meetings with the Big Red.
• Otterbein returns to Ohio Athletic Conference play on Friday at Mount Union at 7 p.m.
• Head coach Monica Wright is in her 18th year at Otterbein and boasts an all-time record of 365-182 at the helm of the Cardinals. 
• Troyer is tied for fourth all-time at Otterbein in career service aces (143) and ranks sixth all-time in career digs (1,426).
• Vitaz has 1,322 career assists.
• Hoffman has 866 career kills.