ALLIANCE — The Otterbein volleyball team improved to 2-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference play with a tightly contested 3-0 win at Mount Union on Friday night. Each set came down to the wire, as the Cardinals won 25-22, 25-22, 25-23.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (12-5 overall, 2-0 OAC), Mount Union (10-6 overall, 0-1 OAC)
• Venue: Timken Gymnasium - Alliance, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Freshman Emerson Baum led the Cardinals in kills with 12 to go with 11 from senior Kennedy Hoffman. Baum also had a team-best six total blocks.
• Three Cardinals posted double-digit dig totals led by 14 each from senior Amanda Troyer and sophomore Ashley Kefauver. Sophomore Makenzie Schellenberger added 12.
• Junior Olivia Vitaz had a team-high 19 assists to go with 17 from freshman Kaitlyn Schram.
• Schram had four of the Cardinals' seven aces on the night.

Match Highlights

• Mount Union jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the first set, but a 6-1 run from Otterbein tied the score at 11. That spurt was highlighted by kills from Vitaz, senior Kristen Scherger, freshman Chandler Crowell and Baum. The remainder of the set featured eight tie scores, the last of which came at 20-all. The Cardinals went up 22-20 on a kill from Baum followed by a Raider attack error, leading to a Mount Union timeout. After the Raiders got within one at 23-22, Otterbein closed out the set with back-to-back points on a kill from junior Maddie Mergen and a Mount Union attack error.
• The teams were neck and neck throughout the early stages of the second set, but Mount Union was able to put together a run for a 13-9 lead. Otterbein fought back to tie the score at 15 on an ace from Schellenberger and proceeded to take a 16-15 edge courtesy of a Mount Union attack error. The score remained tight the rest of the way with six tie scores, including at 21-all. The Cardinals put together another strong closing stretch, scoring four of the next five points to win the set. That run included a kill from Hoffman and two aces from Schram.
• The Raiders once again created early separation in the third set, getting out to a 14-9 lead. Otterbein responded with four straight points and later put together a 6-1 run, which included two aces from Schram and a kill from Schellenberger, for a 19-16 edge. Mount Union scored the next point, but the Cardinals answered with the next four, including two kills from sophomore Lexi Scott, to go up 23-17. Five straight points from the home team cut the deficit to one, 23-22, leading to an Otterbein timeout. The teams traded the next two points before Baum sealed the Cardinals' sweep with a kill.
• Otterbein finished with 40 kills while hitting .130, and Mount Union finished with 30 kills while hitting .076.

Notables

• Otterbein is now 15-9 against Mount Union since 2009 and has won eight straight meetings with the Purple Raiders dating back to 2019.
• Head coach Monica Wright is in her 18th year at Otterbein and boasts an all-time record of 366-182 at the helm of the Cardinals. 
• Troyer is tied for fourth all-time at Otterbein in career service aces (143) and ranks fifth all-time in career digs (1,440).
• Vitaz has 1,341 career assists.
• Hoffman has 877 career kills.