HOLLAND, Mich. — The Otterbein volleyball team gave No. 6 Wisconsin-Oshkosh a battle on Friday but ultimately fell in three sets on Day 1 of the two-day Hope College September Tournament. The Titans won 25-23, 25-23, 25-10.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (6-2 overall), #6 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (9-1 overall)
• Venue: DeVos Fieldhouse - Holland, Mich.

Otterbein Stat Leaders

• Senior Kennedy Hoffman led the way with 15 kills to go with seven from junior Maddie Mergen.
• Sophomore Ashley Kefauver led the team in digs with 16 to go with 13 from senior Amanda Troyer.
• Junior Olivia Vitaz topped Otterbein in assists with 17 to go with 14 from freshman Kaitlyn Schram.
• Freshman Emerson Baum tallied a team-high five total blocks.

Match Highlights

• Otterbein jumped out to a 7-3 lead in the first set in an opening run that included four kills from Hoffman and one from Baum. The Cardinals continued to lead until the Titans tied the score at 12-all. Neither team led by more than two points for the remainder of the set. Kills from Mergen and Vitaz cut the Otterbein deficit to one at 23-22 and 24-23, respectively, but Oshkosh closed out the first-set win courtesy of an Otterbein attack error.
• The Titans had the quick start in the second set, scoring four of the first five points. Oshkosh continued to lead until Otterbein tied the score at 9-all. The tightly contested set later saw the Titans extend their lead to four, 21-17, leading to an Otterbein timeout. The Cardinals responded with three straight points that forced an Oshkosh timeout with a 21-20 edge. The score was later tied at 22- and 23-all before the Titans scored the final two points to close out the set.
• Oshkosh opened up a 7-1 advantage to start the third set and later used a 4-0 run to take a 13-5 lead en route to the 25-10 victory to clinch the match.
• Otterbein finished with 36 kills while hitting .085, and Oshkosh finished with 34 kills while hitting .161.

Notables

• Otterbein and Wisconsin-Oshkosh last played in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Tournament, with the Titans taking a tightly contested five-set match.
• Otterbein's three opponents in the Hope College September Tournament are all ranked inside the top six nationally in NCAA Division III in this week's AVCA/TARAFLEX Poll. The Cardinals face No. 2 Hope and No. 1 Juniata in a doubleheader on Saturday.
• Otterbein received 55 points in this week's poll after totaling 134 points and sitting just outside the top 25 last week.
• Head coach Monica Wright is in her 18th year at Otterbein and boasts an all-time record of 360-179 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Troyer ranks sixth all-time at Otterbein in career service aces (132) and 10th all-time in career digs (1,290).
• Vitaz has 1,126 career assists.
• Hoffman has 789 career kills.