WESTERVILLE, Ohio – After clinching the No. 1 seed in the OAC tournament, the No. 13 Otterbein volleyball team hosted the Mount Union Purple Raiders in the Rike Center on Wednesday in the OAC Semifinal match. The hosts quickly swept the visiting Purple Raiders in straight sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-19), advancing to their fifth straight OAC Championship game.
In set one, Mount Union led early, gaining momentum from the beginning and holding the lead all the way through the middle of the set. It was until a strong service run from senior
Makenzie Schellenberger sparked the Otterbein offense, having the Cardinals tally up eight unanswered points, making the score 13-10. From here, Otterbein found their groove and did not allow another Purple Raider lead for the remainder of the set. Swinging at an impressive .395 clip as a squad, a kill from
Lexi Scott solidified the first set win for the Cardinals, 25-18.
During set two, Otterbein stuck with their rhythm found in the latter half of set one and set the tone early on. The Cardinals led by a large margin for the whole of the second set, with their largest lead being 18-10. Hitting at a .485 percentage as a team, the Cardinals made a statement in set two, defending their home court. Set two was clinched after a kill from junior
Chandler Crowell, 25-18.
In the third and final set, the Cardinals made another statement, keeping Mount Union under double digits until the middle of the set. A service run from senior libero
Ashley Kefauver headed the Cardinal offense, with the largest Otterbein lead being 20-14 in this set. While there was a glimpse of hope for the visiting Purple Raiders at the end of the set, they could not compete with the hosts' offense. Freshman
Courtney Post slammed a kill to secure the Cardinal victory (25-19) and Otterbein's spot in the championship on Saturday.
Offensively, Scott led with 18 kills, hitting at an astounding .500 clip on the evening. Next up was Crowell with 10, also hitting at .500. OAC Player of the Year
Elise Adelman led the team with 40 assists, recording her 3,000
th career assist against the Purple Raiders. Kefauver led the defense with 11 digs, as well as ripping four service aces against Mount Union. Schellenberger was right there with Kefauver, also tallying 11 digs on the night.
Otterbein will be back in action on Saturday, Nov. 14, when they host the OAC Championship at 5 p.m. The Cardinals will face off against No. 3 seeded Muskingum, who stunned Heidelberg in a reverse sweep on Thursday in Tiffin.
