Cards cruise to semis

     Despite Otterbein's momentum, Ohio Northern might be the lone team in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) looking forward to playing the Lady Cards.

     After setting a single-season record with 25 wins and a 3-0 win against Capital in round one of the OAC Tournament, all eyes now turn to the Cardinals' second postseason matchup against the No. 3-seeded Polar Bears.

     Earlier in the regular season, Otterbein volleyball accomplished a feat that they had never before achieved against Ohio Northern: a win.

     After 44 consecutive losses, the Cardinals finally broke through this year and defeated ONU in four games.

     Sophomore Kelly Montgomery and head coach Monica McDonald both said it would be huge to beat ONU twice in the same year.

     "Ohio Northern isn't used to being beat," McDonald said. "They're a team with a lot of tradition."

     The Polar Bears made it to the second round of the tournament by defeating John Carroll in four games Tuesday night.

     After a decisive game-one win Tuesday (25-11), the Cardinals got off to a much slower start in the second game, seemingly trading points with the Crusaders.

     This forced an Otterbein timeout with the score tied at eight.

     "Their (Capital's) serve receive improved in the second game, and we weren't playing good defense at first. However, I still felt we were in control of the match," McDonald said.

     The Cardinals went on to take the second game 25-16 and the third 25-12.

     "The first game we were nervous, and it showed," Capital head coach Pam Briggs said. "The girls have the ability, but they need to understand game flow and function."

     Briggs went on to praise the Cardinals, saying, "Otterbein is a talented and aggressive team, one that will do well in tournaments."

     Montgomery led Otterbein in kills on the night with 10, while junior Lindsey Russell led in digs with 12.

     Looking ahead to the second round matchup, Montgomery said, "A win over Northern would put us in the OAC finals and would also help us out a lot for the NCAA tournament. If we serve aggressive and keep up our blocking, I am confident we can win."

     McDonald believes Otterbein has the edge in some areas, but that it should be a tough, contested match.

     "I feel our middles are a little quicker than their middles. Overall, we match up well with them," she said.

     Friday's match with Ohio Northern begins at 5 p.m. at Heidelberg. The Heidelberg-Mount Union matchup will follow immediately after. t&c;

---