Otterbein beat the Wilmington College Quakers Tuesday night in the Rike Center three sets to none. Coming into the game the Quakers were looking for a win that would mark only their second of the season — they are now 1-16 and 0-6 in the OAC.
With the win, the Cards improve to 21-6 on the season and 4-2 in the OAC. Otterbein ranks third in the conference behind Mount Union and Heidelberg who are both 6-0.
Otterbein wasted no time as they led in the first set by isolating Wilmington players on the court.
Otterbein was able to stay up as the Quakers struggled with communication on the court. Eventually the Cards would go on to win after the final point was scored by senior special education major Annie Juenger.
Wilmington continued to struggle with hitting violations that put Otterbein up 13-6 in the second set. Sophomore health promotions and fitness major Kasey White tallied her second kill of the night putting Otterbein even further ahead 17-9.
Otterbein eventually took the second set 25-12.
Head coach Monica McDonald decided to rest her starters for set three, and Wilmington took a 4-0 lead over Otterbein to begin the final frame. Substitutions later in the set, including re-entering Juenger, allowed the Cards to establish a lead and eventually seal the deal for Otterbein as they won the set 25-21 and the game 3-0.
“Each win is adding to our goal of being higher up in the OAC,” said Gracie Staten, a sophomore sociology major. “We push each other a lot in practice and that keeps us motivated.”
McDonald looks ahead after this win to the competition the team will face this upcoming week. “Denison is a really good team that will definitely challenge us tomorrow and that’s what we are focusing on right now,” she said.
Otterbein takes on Dension in Granville, Ohio tomorrow at 7 p.m.