WESTERVILLE — The Otterbein volleyball team came away with a dominant 3-0 victory over Oberlin in non-conference play on Thursday night for its second sweep in as many days. The Cardinals won 25-15, 25-15, 25-14 in their first home match in over two weeks.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (14-6 overall), Oberlin (4-13 overall)
• Venue: Rike Center - Westerville, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Senior Kennedy Hoffman led Otterbein in kills with 15, tying a season best, which she achieved two other times earlier this year. Senior Kristen Scherger added eight kills.
• Hoffman hit .583 in the match, and Scherger hit .636.
• Senior Amanda Troyer had a team-high 17 digs.
• Junior Olivia Vitaz finished with a team-best 34 assists and four service aces. Otterbein tallied 10 aces as a team.

Match Highlights

• The Cardinals got off to a slow start in the first set, hindered by the Rike Center's brisk temperature inside the building. They built an 8-2 lead before the Yeowomen closed the gap to 9-8 capped by a service ace. Otterbein proceeded to put together a 5-0 run highlighted by two kills from junior Maddie Mergen and one each from Scherger and freshman Emerson Baum, prompting Oberlin to call a timeout. Up 14-8, Otterbein went on to claim the 25-15 victory capped by an ace from sophomore Makenzie Schellenberger.
• Oberlin kept the score close at the start of the second set, but the Cardinals broke away for a 15-6 edge. The Yeowomen responded with a 4-0 run, but the Cardinals kept them at bay, stretching the lead to 22-12. Kills from freshman Lauren Neisel and Baum closed out the 25-15 win.
• The Cardinals scored the first 10 points of the third set in a stretch that included three kills from Hoffman, a kill from Scherger and two aces from sophomore Ashley Kefauver. Trailing 23-10 later in the set, Oberlin put together a 4-1 run, but the Cardinals closed out the sweep with a kill from senior Hope Cuppett.
• Otterbein finished with 43 kills while hitting .348, and Oberlin finished with 14 kills while hitting .014.

Quotes

• Head coach Monica Wright on the win: "I was pleased with our overall composure and consistency, and I thought we brought some energy and intensity for a second midweek match this week."
• Wright on carrying momentum into Saturday's tri-match: "We're looking forward to another OAC match, and we owe Case Western a little bit of revenge after they beat us on their Senior Night last year, so we're excited to have a similar situation with having them here on our Senior Day and hopefully come out with a win against a really solid team."
• Senior Kennedy Hoffman on the win: "This was a great team win. It's super exciting to be able to work on some things that we wanted to work on and get lots of girls in the game. It was a super great game heading into a fun weekend."
• Hoffman on showing emotions during the match: "We're putting a lot of emphasis on celebrating our own wins so that the team can see that to give us all better energy. That's something we've been super passionate about, so I was getting excited so I could get my team excited."
• Hoffman on Saturday's tri-match: "We're super excited to play a conference game on Saturday against a great team and playing a ranked team in Case Western. We want to play competitive volleyball on Saturday to get us ready for another tough week of conference play."

Notables

• Thursday marked the second of four matches for Otterbein this week. The Cardinals won 3-0 at Wilmington on Wednesday and welcome Muskingum and No. 15 Case Western Reserve to Westerville for a tri-match on Saturday for Senior Day.
• Thursday marked the Cardinals' fourth sweep in its past five matches.
• The Cardinals last played at home on Oct. 1, coming away with a 3-0 win over Denison.
• Otterbein is in the "Others receiving votes" section of this week's AVCA/TARAFLEX NCAA Division III Poll with 2 points.
• Head coach Monica Wright is in her 18th year at Otterbein and boasts an all-time record of 368-183 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Troyer ranks third all-time at Otterbein in career service aces (155) and fifth all-time in career digs (1,495).
• Vitaz has 1,422 career assists.
• Hoffman has 917 career kills.