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Otterbein University Athletics

Otterbein Cardinals

NCAAs at Hope
3
Winner Wis.-Stevens Point UWSP 20-11,5-2 WIAC
2
Otterbein OTT 21-9,7-2 OAC
Winner
Wis.-Stevens Point UWSP
20-11,5-2 WIAC
3
Final
2
Otterbein OTT
21-9,7-2 OAC
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Wis.-Stevens Point UWSP 19 25 25 23 15 (3)
Otterbein OTT 25 15 21 25 13 (2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Written by Wes Mayberry

Volleyball drops 5-set thriller to Wisconsin-Stevens Point in first round of NCAA Tournament

HOLLAND, Mich. — The Otterbein volleyball team dropped a five-set thriller to Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at regional site host Hope on Thursday. In what was a tight battle all match long, the Cardinals fell 25-19, 15-25, 21-25, 25-23, 13-15.

The Basics
  • Records: Otterbein (21-9 overall), Wisconsin-Stevens Point (20-11 overall)
  • Venue: DeVos Fieldhouse - Holland, Mich.
  • Otterbein earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament champion. Wisconsin-Stevens Point, out of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, was an at-large selection.
  • NCAA Tournament home page
  • Interactive Bracket
Otterbein Stat Leaders
  • Senior Kennedy Hoffman posted a season-high 20 kills to lead the Cardinals in that category. She hit .288 in the match.
  • Freshman Emerson Baum added 14 kills while hitting .344.
  • Senior Kristen Scherger finished with nine kills and a team-high four total blocks.
  • Four Cardinals posted double-digit dig totals. Senior Amanda Troyer led the way with a season-high 31. Sophomores Makenzie Schellenberger and Ashley Kefauver added 14 each to go with 12 from junior Grace Ganz.
  • Troyer added five service aces to her stat line as the Cardinals finished with nine total.
  • Junior Olivia Vitaz tallied a team-high 42 assists.
Match Highlights
  • Set 1: Otterbein came out strong, jumping out to a 6-2 lead with the help of two kills from Hoffman and a kill from Baum. The Pointers got back within one, 6-5, but the Cardinals responded with a 4-1 run via a kill from Baum and three Stevens Point attack errors for a 10-6 edge leading into a Pointers timeout. Otterbein scored three straight points via a kill from freshman Chandler Crowell sandwiched between a pair of kills from Scherger as part of a larger 6-2 run capped by a kill from Hoffman that put the Cardinals up 16-9 and forced another Pointer timeout. A kill from Scherger followed by an ace from Troyer gave the Cardinals an 18-11 lead, and the advantage grew to eight, 21-13, on a kill from Hoffman followed by an attack error by the Pointers. Three straight points by the Pointers cut the deficit to five, 23-18, going into an Otterbein timeout. Stevens Point added another point coming out of the timeout, but the Cardinals closed out the set with a kill from Scherger and a Pointer attack error for the 25-19 victory.
  • Set 2: Stevens Point scored four of the first five points of the set before Otterbein scored a pair of points on back-to-back kills from Baum and Hoffman. A 4-0 run capped by back-to-back aces by the Pointers put Stevens Point up 11-5 going into an Otterbein timeout. The Pointers extended that run to 6-0 for a 13-5 edge before Crowell put an end to it with a kill. The Pointers later led 20-8 en route to the 25-15 victory to tie the match at one set apiece. Earlier, the Cardinals did find a small spark, scoring four straight points with one kill each from Hoffman and Baum and a pair of aces from Troyer to trail 20-12.
  • Set 3: Otterbein opened the set with an ace from Kefauver and also got a kill from Hoffman and ace from Troyer as part of a 4-1 lead. A kill from Hoffman followed by an ace from Schellenberger put the Cardinals up 7-3, causing the Pointers to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, the Cardinals extended that run to 6-0, getting back-to-back block assists from Crowell and Baum followed by junior Maddie Mergen and Baum and capped by consecutive kills from Crowell and Baum for an 11-3 edge. The Pointers later tied the score at 18 before a Vitaz kill ended that 15-7 run. After ties at 19 and 20, the Pointers scored the next four points before a service error kept the Cardinals alive at 24-21. An Otterbein attack error on the next point gave the set to Stevens Point, 25-21.
  • Set 4: The Cardinals scored the first four points, including two kills from Baum and a kill from Hoffman. Another kill from Hoffman extended the lead to 7-2 as the Pointers called a timeout. Stevens Point responded by forcing an Otterbein timeout after getting back within one, 9-8. The Pointers eventually tied the score at 10, 12 and 13 before taking their first lead of the set at 14-13. Trailing 16-14, the Cardinals tied the score on back-to-back kills from Hoffman and Crowell and took a 17-16 edge on a Stevens Point attack error. The back-and-forth battle continued with the Pointers eventually calling a timeout following a kill from Scherger that put the Cardinals up 21-19. Stevens Point scored the next two points out of the timeout to tie the score at 21, but a service error gave the lead to Otterbein. Troyer followed with an ace for a 23-21 Otterbein edge, and a kill from Hoffman gave the Cardinals set point at 24-22. After the Pointers scored on a block, the Cardinals closed out the 25-23 win on a kill from Baum to force a fifth set.
  • Set 5: A kill and an ace from Vitaz scored consecutive points as Otterbein opened up a 4-2 lead to open the final set, and a 6-3 Cardinal edge caused the Pointers to call a timeout. Otterbein later went up 8-4, but the Pointers fought back to within one, 8-7, going into a Cardinals timeout. Stevens Point tied the score coming out of the timeout, but a service error returned the lead to Otterbein. An ace from Kefauver followed by a block from Vitaz and Scherger put the Cardinals up 12-9, leading to another Stevens Point timeout. The Pointers responded with four straight kills to take a 13-12 lead as Ottebein called its final timeout. A kill from Hoffman tied the score, but the Pointers capped the match with two straight kills for the victory.
  • Otterbein finished with 54 kills while hitting .147, and Wisconsin-Stevens Point finished with 67 kills while hitting .223.
Post-Game Press Conference



Notables
  • This marks Otterbein's fourth straight and 10th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024).
  • The Cardinals' OAC Tournament championship this year was their third straight and sixth overall (2012, 2017, 2020-21, 2022, 2023, 2024).
  • Wisconsin-Stevens Point is the first team listed in the "Others receiving votes" section of the latest AVCA/TARAFLEX NCAA Division III Poll, which was released on Tuesday. The Pointers received 76 points in the poll. Otterbein is also listed in the "Others receiving votes" section with 22 points. In the NCAA Power Index (NPI), which determined at-large selections for the tournament, Otterbein is ranked No. 30, and Stevens Point is ranked No. 38.
  • On Wednesday, Baum was named AVCA Region 7 Freshman of the Year, and Hoffman was an All-Region 7 Honorable Mention honoree.
  • Hoffman, Troyer, Vitaz, Scherger and Baum were selected to the 2024 All-OAC Team. Hoffman was a First Team honoree, while Troyer and Vitaz were named to the Second Team, and Scherger and Baum were Honorable Mention picks.
  • Troyer was named 2024 OAC Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Hoffman and Vitaz.
  • Hoffman closed the regular season with 1,014 career kills, becoming the 10th student-athlete in the history of the Otterbein volleyball program to surpass 1,000 career kills. She now ranks sixth all-time at Otterbein in career kills with 1,068.
  • Troyer ranks second all-time at Otterbein in career service aces (181) and fourth all-time in career digs (1,713).
  • Vitaz has 1,832 career assists.
  • Head coach Monica Wright is in her 18th year at Otterbein and boasts an all-time record of 375-186 at the helm of the Cardinals.
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