The 11th-ranked Muskingum volleyball team will host the three-seed Otterbein on Thursday, November 7, for the Semifinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament. The start time is slated for 7:00 p.m. The game will be a Black Out, and all fans are encouraged to wear black to the game. The contest will feature live stats and video at fightingmuskies.com. This marks the second straight year that the Muskies and Cardinals have met in the OAC Tournament Final Four. Last year, Muskingum won a five-set thriller (23-25, 25-20, 25-19, 12-25, 16-14) at Otterbein to advance to the OAC Tournament Championship game.
The Last Time
The 11th-ranked Muskies beat Otterbein on Saturday, October 26, 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17). Fairfield Inn & Suites in Cambridge, Ohio, was the official GAMEDAY sponsor of the game. After the game, junior Brooke Fatheree and junior Emily Shuk were named the Fairfield Inn & Suites Players of the Game for their outstanding performances.
As a team, Muskingum tallied 63 kills, 57 assists, and 80 digs. Fatheree guided the Muskies with 18 kills on 48 attempts, securing a blistering .313 hitting percentage. Fatheree registered her 1,033rd career kill to move to fifth all-time in career kills at Muskingum. Junior Maddie McGee tallied 13 kills, while junior Brynn Guist registered 12. Junior Erin Dickson logged a game-best 50 assists. Junior Jessica Cottle anchored the Muskie backline with a team-best 18 digs. Junior Maddie Sikorski recorded 17 digs, while Dickson dished out 11.
As a team, Otterbein registered 21 kills, 47 assists, 60 digs, and 13 total blocks. The Cardinals were led by Shuk, who recorded 16 kills on 32 attempts, registering a .438 hitting percentage. Junior Tate Eppard chipped in 15 kills and secured three blocks. Freshman Carlie Craycraft logged a team-high 44 assists and amassed 10 digs. Freshman Bridget Oder tallied a team-best 18 digs.
Matchup Breakdown
#2 Muskingum (Roster l Schedule l Statistics)
The 11th-ranked Muskies, the second-seed in the tournament, are currently 26-2 overall and finished the OAC regular season at 8-1 to earn a share of the OAC regular-season championship for the first time since 1999. As a team, Muskingum has recorded a total of 1,396 kills, 1,267 assists, 1,879 digs, 161 total blocks, and 151 service aces.
Muskingum is led by Fatheree, who has registered a total of 322 kills on the year, ranking third in the league with 3.25 kills per set. This season, Fatheree secured her 1,000th career kill, 1,000th career dig, and moved to fifth all-time in career kills at Muskingum with a total of 1,073. Dickson has logged a team-best 873 assists in 93 sets played, ranking fourth in the OAC with 9.39 assists per set. Dickson is currently fourth all-time in career assists at Muskingum with a total of 2,842 assists.
Cottle anchors the Muskie backline with a team-high 497 digs in 98 sets played, ranking third in the conference with 5.07 digs per set. Cottle registered her 1,000th career dig against Hiram this year. McGee is second on the team with 279 kills, averaging 3.07 kills per set. Junior Brynn Guist has notched 245 kills, while junior Jada Briggs has dished out a career-best 169 kills. Guist has logged a team-high 72 blocks on the year, averaging 0.76 blocks per set.
Muskingum advanced to the OAC Tournament Final Four after beating seven-seed Marietta on Tuesday night, 3-0 (25-20, 25-16, 25-18). The Muskies have appeared in a total of 30 OAC Tournaments and have finished first five times and second six times.
#3 Otterbein (Roster l Schedule l Statistics)
The Cardinals are currently 24-5 overall. As a team, Otterbein has locked in a total of 1,427 kills, 1,346 assists, 1,593 digs, 162 total blocks, and 221 service aces.
Eppard directs the Cardinals with a league-best 357 kills and kills per set (3.64). Shuk has recorded 276 kills in 96 sets played, averaging 2.88 kills per set. Craycraft has registered a team-high 1,098 assists, ranking first in the conference with 11.32 assists per set. Oder has logged a team-best 38 service aces, while freshman Anna Donner has tallied 35. Senior Ashlyn Leon has also locked in a team-high digs (432) and digs per set (4.55) this year. Oder ranks second on the team with a total of 262 digs in 101 sets played, averaging 2.59 digs per set.
Otterbein advanced to the OAC Tournament Final Four after beating six-seed Mount Union on Tuesday evening, 3-1 (23-25, 25-19, 25-11, 25-18). Otterbein has appeared in a total of 21 OAC Tournaments and has finished first in the tournament once.
OAC Tournament Schedule
The format is a single-elimination, with the champion receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Tuesday, November 5, Quarterfinals-all matches 7:00 p.m.
#8 John Carroll (3-6) at #1 Ohio Northern (8-1), Ohio Northern 3, John Carroll 0 BOX SCORE
#7 Marietta (3-6) at #2 Muskingum (8-1), Muskingum 3, Marietta 0 BOX SCORE
#6 Mount Union (5-4 at #3 Otterbein (7-2), Otterbein 3, Mount Union 1 BOX SCORE
#5 Baldwin Wallace (5-4) at #4 Heidelberg (5-4), Baldwin Wallace 3, Heidelberg 1 BOX SCORE
Thursday, November 7 Semifinals-Both Games 7:00 p.m.
#5 Baldwin Wallace at #1 Ohio Northern
#3 Otterbein at #2 Muskingum
Saturday, November 9 Final-2:00 p.m.
Lower Remaining Seed at Higher Remaining Seed
ADMISSION
Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Final
$8 for adults
$6 for seniors (62)
$3 for non-OAC students.
OAC students are admitted free of charge with valid ID.
OAC 2018-19 passes are not valid for the tournament
OAC Lifetime passes will be honored