WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Ranked No. 16 in the nation, Otterbein volleyball returned to their home court ready to make another statement, easily sweeping Wilmington in an OAC matchup at the Rike Center. The Cardinals took down the visiting Quakers in straight sets (25-9, 25-13, 25-22).
During the opening set, the Cardinals wasted no time taking control over the visitors from Wilmington. Otterbein led in all categories and stopped the Quakers from hitting double digit numbers in set one. The Cards hit at an astounding .520 clip as a team, compared to a .038 from the Quakers. After an impressive showing all around, a block from
Elise Adelman and
Courtney Post secured the set one victory, 25-9.
In set two, the visitors yet again could not keep up with the Cardinals' speed. With Otterbein's largest lead being 17-9, the Cardinals did not allow a Quaker lead in the second set. Heading all categories just like set one, Otterbein made a statement in set two, swinging at a .241 clip as a team, while the Wilmington offense swung in the negatives. The Cards stole set two 25-13.
In the third and final set, the teams traded points back and forth until a kill from Post, assisted by freshman
Mallory Bledsoe, sparked the Otterbein offense at 10-9, who took the set from there. A kill from
Julia Beatty secured the Cardinal victory, 25-22, bringing Otterbein's record to 20-3 on the year and 5-0 in conference play.
On the offensive side, Post led the Cardinals with nine kills, followed by six from junior
Chandler Crowell, who also hit an impressive .545 on the night. Bledsoe added 19 assists for the Otterbein arsenal, with Adelman right behind her with 10. Defensively, senior libero
Ashley Kefauver tallied eight digs against the Quakers, while Beatty had six.
The Cardinals continue OAC play when they travel to Berea, Ohio on Friday to compete against the Yellow Jackets from Baldwin Wallace University. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
