TIFFIN — The Otterbein volleyball team won 3-1 at Heidelberg on Saturday to wrap up its Ohio Athletic Conference schedule, winning 25-27, 25-19, 25-21, 25-21. The Cardinals will close out their regular season on Wednesday hosting Wittenberg before entering the six-team OAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed with a bye to the semifinals on Nov. 14 when they will host the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between third-seeded Mount Union and sixth-seeded Muskingum.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (18-8 overall, 7-2 OAC), Heidelberg (12-14 overall, 3-6 OAC)
• Venue: Seiberling Gymnasium - Tiffin, Ohio
• OAC Tournament page

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Senior Kristen Scherger led the Cardinals with a career-high 17 kills. Sophomore Lexi Scott added 10 kills to go with nine from senior Kennedy Hoffman.
• Senior Amanda Troyer posted a team-high 26 digs to go with 12 from sophomore Ashley Kefauver and 11 from junior Olivia Vitaz.
• Vitaz added a team-best 41 assists.
• Scherger finished with a team-high four total blocks.
• Freshman Kaitlyn Schram tallied three of the team's nine service aces in the game.

Match Highlights

• A 4-0 run early in the first set put Otterbein up 13-8, but Heidelberg later used a 7-0 run to take a 17-14 edge. Trailing 21-19, the Cardinals scored three straight points capped by a pair of kills from Scherger for a 22021 lead. The teams played to ties at 24 and 25 before the Student Princes scored two straight points to clinch the 27-25 win.
• The teams played to a 18-18 tie in the second set before Otterbein closed it out on a 7-1 run for the 25-19 win. That closing stretch included two kills from Scott and an ace from Schram.
• In a tightly contested third set, the teams played to a 17-17 tie. The Cardinals scored the next two points and maintained the lead en route to the 25-21 victory. Kills from Scherger and Hoffman accounted for two of the final four Otterbein points.
• Heidelberg built a 13-9 lead to open the fourth set, but the Cardinals responded with a 6-1 run highlighted by two kills from junior Maddie Mergen, two aces from freshman Emerson Baum and an ace from sophomore Makenzie Schellenberger for a 15-14 edge. A 4-0 run via kills from Mergen and Scott and back-to-back aces from Schram put Otterbein up 19-16. Heidelberg got back within one, 21-20, but the Cardinals scored the next three points for a 24-20 lead en route to the match-clinching 25-21 victory capped by a kill from Hoffman.
• Otterbein finished with 52 kills while hitting .155, and Heidelberg finished with 50 kills while hitting .122.

Notables

• Otterbein is 12-7 against Heidelberg dating back to 2009 and has won the past nine meetings.
• Scherger's previous single-game career best in kills was 15 against Case Western Reserve on Oct. 28, 2023.
• Head coach Monica Wright is in her 18th year at Otterbein and boasts an all-time record of 372-185 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Troyer ranks third all-time at Otterbein in career service aces (165) and fourth all-time in career digs (1,618).
• Vitaz has 1,663 career assists.
• Hoffman has 998 career kills.