A Wednesday night Ohio Athletic Conference volleyball match was staged in Westerville, Ohio, that turned out to hold more intrigue than anyone may have expected.
The host and first place Otterbein Cardinals entered the night 15-4 overall and 3-0 in conference as the lone team undefeated in league play. The John Carroll Blue Streaks, meanwhile, brought in a steady 12-8 record and were tied for seventh place (1-3) in the conference standings.
While Otterbein was able to win four games, the first three sets of the night showed this was not the average first-versus-seventh place battle.
A fast start by the Cardinals took JCU aback as the opposing team took a lead of 11-5 in the first set. The Cardinals eventually extended their advantage to 17-9 and finished the set by a 25-15 score. Â Otterbein shared the wealth at the net with seven Cardinals contributing kills in the first set. On the other side, only two Blue Streaks recorded a kill in the first set,
Sarah Calabrese (3) and
Brooke Hjerpe (2).
A tale that this young JCU volleyball team continues to tell is to engage in hard fought back and forth matches. Tonight would be no exception. After the first set that, the Blue Streaks turned on the jets and made their presence known.
The second set was markedly closer than the first throughout, as a timeout was called once the Blue Streaks took their first lead of the night in set two (16-14). The Cardinals came out hot tying it up at 17 but the Blue and Gold did not wilt in the spotlight. They pushed back out in front to a 19-17 lead. A Calabrese kill and
Becca Fortsch service ace forced the Cardinals to take another timeout to regroup with John Carroll in the lead 21-18.
The Cardinals rallied, spilling the set into extra points, but the Blue Streaks came out on top at 28-26, putting the pressure back on the Cardinals and gaining momentum moving into the third set.
In what proved to be a pivotal set, the score never showed the team with the lead never extended beyond a three-point margin.. The Cardinals took their largest lead at 22-19 only to have the Blue Streaks knot the count at 23-23. The experience Cardinals side came oit of a time out and won the final two points to seal set number three, 25-23.
The fourth set brought a different tale as the Cardinals jumped out to a dominating lead 15-4, forcing a John Carroll timeout. The conference leaders did not hold back as they extended the lead to as large as 17 (21-4). The Cardinals ended the match with a 25-14 victory.
"The Big Three" hitters for JCU --Â Â Calabrese,
Cassi Calamunci and Hjerpe -- helped lead the offensive charge. Calabrese had a team high with 14 kills followed by Calamunci and Hjerpe with nine and seven, respectively.
Caitlin Cianciolo was scrappy on the back line with 24 digs.
Ally Bartolone tallied 17 assists.
The Blue Streaks (12-9, 1-4 OAC) will return to action away from the OAC this weekend as they take on Albion College at 5 p.m. on Friday, and then will compete in two Saturday matchups against Oberlin College at 12 p.m. and Adrian College at 2:00 p.m.. All three matches will take place at Oberlin College.
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