The Otterbein Cardinals (15-4) won Thursday night against the Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene (7-11) three sets to none but struggled in their last two sets.
“Volleyball is a game of momentum,” head coach Monica McDonald said. “We talked about just staying focused, and I think we did a much better job of that tonight.”
In the first set the Cards and Cougars went back and forth until the score was tied, 4-4. After that the Cards began to take control going on an 8-2 run, which gave them a six point lead, 12-6.
From there the Cards maintained the lead and eventually took the set, 25-12.
In the second set both teams went back and forth, but Otterbein would escape with the win, 25-22.
In the third the Cards began to break away taking a four point lead, 9-5, but the Cougars would mount a comeback and tie the set at 13. But once again it would be Cards coming out on top, 25-18, and winning the match.
“They picked (it) up offensively, taking some bigger swings and passing a lot better,” McDonald said. “We knew they were a little better than what they showed in the first set.”
Sophomore Lauren Beitel led the team with 13 kills followed closely by junior Kim Barker with 12.
The women’s volleyball team returns to action at John Carroll on Saturday, September 28th, at 1 p.m.
