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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
JCU VB vs Otterbein
Sam Herr
Blue Streaks Stun #22 Otterbein At Home In Five Sets To Pull Off Incredible Upset
2
Otterbein OTT 22-5,7-1 OAC
3
Winner John Carroll JCU 18-8,6-1 NCAC
Otterbein OTT
22-5,7-1 OAC
2
Final
3
John Carroll JCU
18-8,6-1 NCAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Otterbein OTT 24 21 25 25 12 (2)
John Carroll JCU 26 25 20 5 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Danny Gibel, Staff Writer

Blue Streaks Upset #22 Otterbein In Thrilling Fashion At Home

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, OH - 16 years of history were defied on a Wednesday night inside the DeCarlo Varsity Center.

The 17-8 Blue Streaks and the 22-4 and #22 ranked Cardinals have long been acquainted with one another, but never had they played in a match quite like this one. The Blue Streaks defeated the Cardinals for the first time since 2016 in a five set, history defying, thriller. JCU won the first two sets 26-24 and 25-21, before dropping the next two, 25-20 and 20-5. They capped off an incredible win for the program with a 15-12 fifth set finale. 

These two programs were longtime rivals in the Ohio Athletic Conference, squaring off every season since 1989. The Cardinals were 24-23 all-time against the Blue Streaks, and had won 13 consecutive matches entering Wednesday. In fact, the last time a match went to five sets was October 5th, 2004 when the Blue Streaks fell 3-2 at home. The win marked the Blue Streaks first 3-2 victory over Otterbein since 1995. 

There was no shortage of energy inside a packed DeCarlo Center during the first set. In the early stage of the set, the Cardinals appeared as advertised. They surged ahead to a 3-0 advantage and capitalized on an attack error and bad kill by the Blue Streaks. Kallan Hrics and Kendra Dziubinski led their team on a 7-4 run to tie the game at 7-7.

The Blue Streaks found their opportunity when the Cardinals made a trio of uncharacteristic errors. The blue and gold then mounted a 5-0 run and took a 16-12 lead. In what turned out to be a dramatic opening set, the Cardinals rallied back to take a 20-17 advantage. The glimpse of hope the Blue Streaks appeared to be fading away, before Natalie Glowe willed her team back into the set with a pair of kills that tied the score at 20-20. Glowe would go on to record 12 kills and a pair of service aces. 

The Cardinals managed to retake the lead and had a set point but could not slam the door. The Blue Streaks then clawed their back to even the score at 24-24, before taking the final two points for an impressive victory.

Coach Michelle Benoit did not allow her team to ease into the second set as they played fast and opened up a 5-1 lead much to the delight of the Blue Streak faithful in attendance. The Cardinals slowly pulled back within a point and trailed 11-10 as the two sides settled into the set, but the Blue Streaks maintained their intensity and scored nine of the next 13 points. 

With the Blue Streaks ahead 20-14, Monica Wright gathered the Cardinals for a timeout in hopes of sparking a late set comeback. Otterbein's veteran head coach must have said something right, because her squad scored five of the next six points and forced a time out by Benoit as the set came down to the wire once again. 

It was now or never for the Blue Streaks in the second set, with the Cardinals seemingly eyeing the comeback win. A crucial kill by Tess Humphrey put the Blue Streaks ahead 22-20 and they went on to score three of the next four points to take a 2-0 set lead. 

In the third set, the Blue Streaks and the Cardinals went back and forth for much of the early action. Neither side was able to gain a lead greater than a point until the Cardinals took a 9-7 lead, who then began to flex some of the muscle that earned them their #22 ranking in the third set. 

The Cardinals steamrolled their way to a 20-13 lead after rallying to win 11 of the previous 17 points. However, to the surprise of no one who witnessed the first two sets, the Blue Streaks were not about to surrender without a fight. They ramped up the scoring and cut the deficit down to 20-18. 

When the Cardinals needed her most, Emerson Baum emerged and took control of the set. She recorded three kills and a block which lifted the Cardinals to a key win of the third set to avoid a sweep.  

Before the Blue Streaks could blink in the fourth set, the Cardinals soared out to a 6-0 lead that continued to grow as play went on. Wright had her team executing to perfection and it did not take long for it to become clear that those in attendance were going to witness a fifth set. The Cardinals led by as many as 16 on their way to an emphatic 25-5 win. 

These two programs certainly had a flair for the dramatic in the fifth set as the DeCarlo Center roared with the cheers of Blue Streaks fans. With everything on the line, there was no room for error. They traded points in the opening stages of the fifth set, before the Cardinals found themselves with a comfortable 11-5 lead. In their most dire moment, the Blue Streaks showcased an incredible amount of heart and pulled themselves back into the set. 

There was no stopping the Blue Streaks once they began their comeback and the crowd came back to life. Hailey Williams led the way with five kills in the final set, including three of the Blue Streaks' final four points and the match clinching point. She tallied a team-high 13 total kills for the night. 

John Carroll pulled off an unprecedented upset and will now look to use it to propel them into the final two games of the regular season and then the NCAC Tournament next week.
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