LEXINGTON, Ky. — The Otterbein volleyball team split its matches with Mount St. Joseph and No. 24 Transylvania (Ky.) in the Transy Invitational on Saturday afternoon, getting a 3-1 win over the Lions before falling by the same score to the host Pioneers. The Cardinals won 25-18, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22 over Mount St. Joseph and fell 26-28, 15-25, 25-22, 23-25 in their battle with Transylvania.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (8-5 overall), Mount St. Joseph (2-8 overall), #24 Transylvania (8-5 overall) 
• Venue: Clive M. Beck Center - Lexington, Ky.

Otterbein Stat Leaders vs. Mount St. Joseph

• Seniors Kristen Scherger and Kennedy Hoffman led the way with 13 kills apiece to go with nine from freshman Emerson Baum and eight from freshman Chandler Crowell.
• Three Cardinals posted double-digit dig totals. Sophomore Makenzie Schellenberger led the way with 16 to go with 13 from senior Amanda Troyer and 12 from junior Olivia Vitaz.
• Vitaz tallied a team-best assists.
• Scherger finished with a team-high five blocks.

Match Highlights vs. Mount St. Joseph

• The Cardinals jumped out to a 17-11 lead in the opening set before three straight points from Mount St. Joesph made it 17-14. Otterbein closed out the set by scoring four straight points to win 25-18. That closing stretch included two kills from Crowell, and one each from Scherger and junior Maddie Mergen.
• The second set played out tight, as Otterbein and Mount St. Joseph went back and forth. With the score tied at 23-all, the Cardinals closed out the 25-23 win after back-to-back errors from Mount St. Joseph.
• In the third set, MSJ used an 8-0 run to go up 10-7. The Cardinals fought back but came up short, losing the set 25-18.
• In the fourth set, the Cardinals jumped out to a 19-11 lead and were up 23-19 before a 3-0 MSJ run brought the Lions within one, 23-22. Otterbein scored the next two points to secure the match, getting kills from Baum and Crowell.
• Otterbein finished with 52 kills while hitting .166, and Mount St. Joseph finished with 47 kills while hitting .149.

Otterbein Stat Leaders vs. Transylvania

• Hoffman led the way with 13 kills to go with 11 from Scherger and Crowell.
• Troyer posted a team-high 22 digs to go with nine each from Vitaz and Schellenberger. 
• Vitaz posted 33 assists.
• Baum finished with a team-high six blocks.

Match Highlights vs. Transylvania

• In a close first set, the Pioneers opened up an 11-6 lead, but Otterbein later used a a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to one, 17-16. Two kills from Scherger and one from Crowell to go with an ace from Schellenberger sparked the run. Trailing 22-18, the Cardinals scored four straight points courtesy of Transylvania errors to tie the score. The Pioneers scored the next two points, but the Cardinals responded with kills from Hoffman and Scherger to tie the score at 24-all. The score was tied at 25 and 26 before the Pioneers closed it out with two straight points.
• The Pioneers opened up a 13-4 lead in the second set en route to the 25-15 victory.
• Still putting up a fight, the Cardinals opened leads of 5-1 and 11-6 in the third set. The Pioneers proceeded to score five straight points to tie the score at 11, and the teams continued to battle to a 20-all tie. After Transylvania went up 21-20, the Cardinals scored the next four points, getting two kills from Crowell and an ace from Vitaz for a 24-21 edge. A kill from Crowell later closed out the 25-22 victory for Otterbein.
• Transylvania opened up a 9-2 lead to begin the fourth set and later built a 15-8 edge. Trailing 21-16, Otterbein used a 3-0 run to get within two. Another 3-0 run, consisting of back-to-back kills from Hoffman and Vitaz followed by an ace from Baum, put the Cardinals within one, 24-23. But the Pioneers scored the next point to seal the match.
• Otterbein finished with 51 kills while hitting .157, and Transylvania finished with 52 kills while hitting .193.

Notables

• Otterbein received 22 points in this week's AVCA/TARAFLEX NCAA Division III Poll after totaling 55 points and facing three top-six teams last week. Transylvania marked the fourth top-25 team the Cardinals have faced this season.
• Head coach Monica Wright is in her 18th year at Otterbein and boasts an all-time record of 362-182 at the helm of the Cardinals. 
• Troyer ranks fifth all-time at Otterbein in career service aces (137) and sixth all-time in career digs (1,376). 
• Vitaz has 1,240 career assists.
• Hoffman has 837 career kills.