It has been said that the future is in the hands of our youth, this is certainly the case with Otterbein's Women's Volleyball team. Of the 15 players, 11 are freshmen. In fact, four of the six starters are new arrivals on Otterbein's campus. The Cardinals came into Wednesday's game with a record of 3-7. For their first home game of the season, the Cardinals beat the Big Red of Denison University (2-3) in three games 25-16, 25-11 and 25-10. Junior, Marinda Roderick, the team's starting setter, was happy to be on home ground. "We have been playing all over, it's nice to have a big crowd here to cheer for us," said Roderick This team of zero seniors has zero trouble with leadership. The three juniors, Roderick, Leah Yoder and Sarah Kelly are "extremely well respected," according to Head Coach Monica McDonald. Yoder led the team in blocks. "She had to have had at least six or seven [blocks]," explained Assistant Coach Tim Cole. McDonald added that the team had been practicing blocking all week and described Yoder's performance as a "blocking clinic." Though the Cardinals won the first game 25-16, the game could have gone either way. At one point the teams were tied at 10 but it was Otterbein that broke away. The second game was a different story. The Cardinals came out with a definite edge. Denison was lucky to have scored 11 points. By the third and final game, Otterbein scored 18 points before the Big Red had 3. In that final game, every member on the active roster made an appearance, leading to a true team victory. The only player that didn't make an appearance was freshman, Corinne Windle, who is out with an ankle injury but expected to return in two weeks. Windle's injury has left an important spot to fill and Alicia Chafins has done just that. "We have used her some on the left side, but really had been playing defense and used to attack from the back, said Coach McDonald. "She had really used every opportunity." In Wednesday's game Chafins finished the match with an impressive 17 kills. McDonald also wanted to draw attention to the freshman, defensive specialist. Renee Willke whose effort provided the Cardinals with a total of 16 digs in the team's victory. When the score was 24-10 of the match, the crowd continued to clap in unison until the home side score showed 25. It didn't take long. The Cardinals move to 4-7 on the year. t&c;
Opening at home in style
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