The Otterbein women’s volleyball team opened their season this past weekend, co-hosting an annual tournament with Capital University.The Cardinals were able to close the weekend with a 3-1 record.
Day one of the tournament began rocky as the Cardinals dropped their season opener to Alma College (Mich.) in five sets on Friday. However, the Cardinals rebounded later that evening, defeating Buffao State (NY)in three sets.
Otterbein started the first set against Alma with a 7-1 run that lead to a 25-23 victory. Both teams went on to trade scores in the second set, but Alma had the edge and won 25-23.
Both teams traded points back-and-forth throughout the third set, leading to a 26-26 tie late in the set. Otterbein took the final two points on an Alma service error and a service ace from redshirt sophomore Maddy Shelley.
The forth set was a blowout, in favor of Alma, as Otterbein fell 25-9, leading to a fifth and final set.
Alma went on to take the fifth set, 15-11, and gave the 23rd ranked Otterbein their first lost of the season.
Women's volleyball was able to rebound after the loss against Alma by sweeping Buffalo State in three sets with scores of 25-21, 25-19 and 26-24.
Day two of the tournament was a different story for the Cardinals as they won both of their matches on Saturday.
To start the day, the Cardinals defeated Kenyon College in three sets by scores of 27-25, 25-13 and 25-17.
In the first set, both teams went on runs that started with Otterbein scoring three in a row, giving them a 7-5 lead. However, Kenyon immediately responded back with a five-point run of their own to give them an early 10-7 lead.
From that point on, Otterbein found themselves down 25-24. Then, with a kill from freshman Morgan Lowencamp, an attack error from Kenyon, and a kill from senior Kendel Kellogg, the Cardinals found themselves three points for the win in the first set.
Otterbein took the second and third sets with ease, recording two five-point runs and one six-point run between the two sets.
The Cardinals’ fourth and final match against Maryville College (Tenn.) resulted in a victory for Otterbein in four sets by the scores of 25-21, 25-23, 23-25 and 25-20.
Senior Kim Barker earned first-team All-Tournament honors by recording 43 kills and 8 digs over the two days. Kellogg also had a notable tournament by recording 45 kills and 35 digs between the four games.
The Cardinals are off until next Friday when they play in the Hanover Invitational tournament in Hanover, Indiana. Their first opponent will be Centre College (Ky.) at 5:30 p.m.
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