No. 24 Volleyball splits a pair of 5-set thrillers at No. 12 Otterbein
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #24 Ohio Northern 13-3, 13-3 OAC | 25 | 17 | 25 | 22 | 8 | 2 |
| #12 Otterbein 15-3, 15-3 OAC | 18 | 25 | 23 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #24 Ohio Northern 13-2, 13-2 OAC | 21 | 25 | 18 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
| #12 Otterbein 14-3, 14-3 OAC | 25 | 23 | 25 | 21 | 13 | 2 |
Team Stats
#12 Otterbein
| Game Statistics | #24 Ohio Northern | #12 Otterbein |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .192 | .227 |
| Blocks | 12.0 | 5.0 |
| Digs | 64 | 73 |
| Aces | 8 | 9 |
#12 Otterbein
| Game Statistics | #24 Ohio Northern | #12 Otterbein |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .273 | .253 |
| Blocks | 9.0 | 6.0 |
| Digs | 74 | 78 |
| Aces | 5 | 9 |
By Tim Glon
ADA — The No. 24-ranked Ohio Northern volleyball team split a pair of 5-set thrillers at No. 12 Otterbein on Tuesday night at the Rike Center.
The Polar Bears (13-3 overall, 13-3 in the Ohio Athletic Conference) won the opening match 22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-21, 15-13 and fell in the second match 18-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-22, 15-8.
The Cardinals end their regular season 15-3, 15-3.
The two teams are now one game behind Muskingum (14-2, 14-2) in the loss column heading into the regular season finale for ONU and MU on Friday. ONU will play twice at Mount Union, and will need two wins to tie Otterbein and hope for at least a Muskingum split at home with Heidelberg to share a piece of the OAC Regular Season crown.
Northern won the opening match in exciting fashion.
With the score tied at 13-all in the fifth set, freshman Sydney Eggleton (Southfield, Mich./Farmington) had a kill to make it 14-13.
A block by senior Hope Williamson (Noblesville, Ind./Herirtage Christian) and freshman Madeline Gawthrop (New Paris, Ind./Fairfield) ended the match for the Polar Bears at 15-13.
Junior Melina Woods (Ada) had 18 kills, Williamson had 15 kills and Eggleton had 14 kills in the opening match for ONU.
Junior Kiki Carle (Cincinnati/Mother of Mercy) tied a season-high with 52 assists, marking the fourth match this season she has had 50 or more assists. Junior Hannah Irmer (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli) had 29 digs for ONU.
ONU hit .273 with 65 and 17 errors on 176 attempts, while Otterbein hit .253 with 72 kills and 23 errors on 194 attacks in the first match.
Amber Greely had 20 kills and Morgan Hartman added 19 kills for OU.
In the second match, ONU got 12 kills from Woods, 11 from Eggleton and 10 from Williamson as the defenses asserted themselves more.
In the fifth and deciding set, OU raced to a 9-2 lead and rode that out for the victory.
Hartman had 21 kills for the Cardinals in the win.
Carle added 42 digs and Irmer added 20 digs for ONU.
The Polar Bears will wrap up their regular season on the road next week with two matches at Mount Union on Friday.
The OAC Tournament will begin with the quarterfinals on April 13. ONU has locked in a home match on Tuesday in the 8-team tournament.