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Otterbein Falls in Thrilling OAC Semi-Final
TIFFIN, OHIO - Otterbein, the second seed, fell in a
thrilling five-set match with third-seeded Ohio Northern Friday
evening in the semi-finals of the Ohio Athletic Conference
tournament.
The loss drops the Cardinals to 26-6 on the season, and the team
will now wait to see if it will earn a bid to the NCAA
Tournament.
Ohio Northern took the opening three points of set one, but the
Cards weather the early storm and eventually seized a 9-6
lead.
The Polar Bears would tie the score at 9-9, and Otterbein would
even the match at 13-13 after a kill from freshman Annie
Juenger.
Otterbein would ride the hot-hitting of sophomore Kelly
Montgomery, to take a slim 20-19 edge. ONU, however, ran
off four straight points to find themselves up 23-19, the largest
lead of the see-saw battle.
The Cardinals drew to within a point at 23-22, but went down
24-22 a minute later and faced a set point. Standing their ground,
the Cards battled to tie the set at 24-24, and the teams
would stay be locked at 25-25, 26-26, and 27-27.
Northern would finally pull ahead to escape with a 29-27
victory.
Otterbein regained its focus and took an 11-9 lead in set two,
only to see the Polar Bears regain momentum and stand on top at
16-13.
The Cards would win four of the next five points to even the score
at 17-17, and a timely kill from Juenger down the left sideline
would vault the team on top, 18-17.
A kill from sophomore Ally Nagle, the league's top hitter, gave
Otterbein a 23-20 edge, and the Cards would pull out a 25-22
victory after an ONU service error and a finishing kill from
Juenger.
Otterbein kept the momentum to jump out to a 5-1 lead in set
three, only to see ONU win the next five points and jump ahead
6-5.
Northern stayed strong and pushed the margin to 15-10, the largest
of the match, and kept a cushion of at least three points over the
next few minutes. The Cards continued to battle on a few long rally
points, but Ohio Northern eventually pulled away to hand the
Cards a 25-16 loss.
Both teams would flip-flop holding the lead in set four, and
Otterbein found a little breathing room after a service ace from
junior Renee Willke made it 11-8.
ONU rebounded to grab a 13-12 advantage, but the lead wouldn't
balloon to more than a point for either side until another service
ace from Willke put the Cards up 17-15.
A service error on the next point allowed Northern to pullin
within one, but Otterbein prompted a Polar Bear timeout by running
off the next three points to take the set's largest lead at
20-16.
The Cards would keep their foot on the gas pedal, taking a 25-19
victory to stay alive and force a fifth set.
Otterbein took a quick 4-1 lead in set five, but ONU responded
with five straight points to leap ahead 6-4.
The Cards tied the game at 7-7, but Northern took control at 13-9,
and again at 14-10. ONU then jumped on its first opportunity at
match point to take set five 15-10 and cap a thrilling semi-final
contest.
Nagle hit .375 for the match, leading all players with 18 kills in
her quest for a conference "Player of the Year" award. Juenger
finished with 15 kills while senior Rayna Coleman and Montgomery
added with 13 and 11, respectively.
Sophomore Lydia Wynkoop dished out 33 assists while junio libero
Lindsey Russell came up with 26 digs.
Juenger racked up 13 digs while Willke and sophomore Lizzy Flynn
had 14 and 11, respectively, to contribute in the defensive
game.
