WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Following their season opener against Wittenberg University, the (RV) Otterbein University volleyball team earned a pair of sweeps in Saturday's matches. Receiving votes in the preseason AVCA poll, the Cardinals knocked off Franciscan (1-3) and (RV) Washington and Lee (3-1) in straight sets.
GAME ONE: Otterbein 3 Franciscan 0
Otterbein opened the day making quick work of the Barons. Utilizing a massive 7-1 run midway through the set, the Cardinals created distance to eventually take set one, 25-12. Franciscan battled with Otterbein in the middle set, but the hosts managed to come away with a 25-20 win before winning the final, 25-19.
Junior Emerson Baum led the Cardinals in hitting percentage, hitting a spectacular .529, with 10 kills on 17 attempts. She paced the Otterbein offense, who swung at a .269 clip in the match.
Just behind, sophomore Addison Matovich and junior Lauren Neisel both hit .500, adding five kills between them for the Cardinals. Senior Elise Adelman led the way with 27 assists, while junior Chandler Crowell was crucial on defense, tallying 12 digs and two blocks against the Barons. Senior Ashley Kefauver also added 10 digs.
Backing the Otterbein offense, senior Makenzie Schellenberger dished out five kills and three aces, and senior Lexi Scott added seven kills to the Cardinals' arsenal.
GAME TWO – Otterbein 3 Washington & Lee 0
Following the Franciscan 3-0 win, the Cardinals pulled another decisive win over (RV) Washington and Lee.
Although both teams traded points evenly throughout all three matches, Otterbein channeled calm and consistent defense while pushing precise offense to overtake the Generals (25-20, 25-19, 25-21). Set one was neck and neck until the Cardinals found some final points of separation. Otterbein sat ahead 20-19 before tallying the next five of six points to claim the first set victory with kills by Scott, Crowell and Schellenberger coupled with a service error from the Generals and a final point service ace from senior Emma Steiger.
Wash. and Lee pulled ahead 6-3 in the next set before a barrage of kills from Crowell, Baum and Adelman as well as a few attack errors from Washington & Lee put the Cardinals ahead 15-11. The Generals showed, fight rallying for four points to knot the set at 15 before Otterbein picked up steam and rallied to a 25-19 final in set two.
Otterbein controlled set three from the jump, tallying the first four points and holding a lead the rest of the way through to best the visiting Generals, 3-0.
Scott led the Cardinals with 16 kills, followed closely by Baum who contributed 12 kills. Steiger and Payton Powell both had a pair of service aces in the match. Adelman also tallied an ace and led the team with a striking 34 assists. Kefauver led the team with a 12-dig effort.
Otterbein led W&L in all categories, including points (57-35), kills (45-29), aces (7-4), blocks (5-2), assists (37-27) and digs (36-34).
This Friday, the Cardinals travel to the other side of Columbus to participate in the Pam Briggs Classic held at Capital University. They open play against Washington & Jefferson at 5 p.m. before taking on Hanover in a 7 p.m. contest.
