GAMBIER, Ohio – Led by Hadley Sterett's match-high 20 kills, Otterbein University won its eighth-consecutive game on Thursday night in a non-conference tilt against Kenyon College. The visitors won by scores of 25-15, 25-22 and 25-14.
 
The Cardinals (12-4) were efficient throughout, hitting a season-high .375. Sterett, a Division I transfer from Wright State University, added three service aces while teammate Alana King-Mendenhall recorded 10 kills.
 
Delaney Swanson's team-high 13 kills led Kenyon (11-5). She also contributed eight digs. Sophomore Meghan Cason added 31 assists while Katie Howard paced the Ladies' defense with 15 digs.
 
Otterbein jumped out in the first set to an 11-4 lead following a Kenyon setting error. However, just a few sequences later, Kenyon pulled to within four, 13-9, after an Alexi Donnelly service ace. Following that, a 5-1 Cardinals run, highlighted by three aces from Sterett, ended any chance of a Ladies comeback.
 
In the second, the Ladies were down five, 18-13, after a block from King-Mendenhall. Kenyon responded to pull within one. A kill and ace by Swanson, along with another kill from Haley Witschey, had the home team down 23-22. That's where the rally stopped, though, for Kenyon as Otterbein registered the next two points on kills from Sterett and King-Mendenhall.
 
The Cardinals were able to close out the match in the third, holding Kenyon to its lowest point total in a set this year (14). Leading 11-9 after a Kenyon point, the visitors went on an 8-1 run to seize control. King-Mendenhall, Emily Shuk and Julia Vermilion all recorded kills in that stretch.
 
Kenyon will have some time off before its next match. On October 5, the Ladies will travel to face Oberlin College in a conference match starting at 7 p.m.