Twelfth-ranked Otterbein handed the Denison Big Red a 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-20) setback on Monday evening in Westerville, Ohio.

Denison kept things close with Otterbein in all three sets, but the overpowering Cardinals converted down the stretch to secure the win.

DU battled back-and-forth with 12th-ranked Otterbein in the third set.  With the set tied at 8-8, the home team went on a five-point run to build a 13-8 advantage.  The Big Red slowly shrunk the deficit to 17-16 behind the serving of sophomore libero Emily Marguerite.  Down by a point, first-year Annemarie Fischer tied the set at 18-18 with a thunderous kill.

After rookie Kenzie Kuhn gave DU a 19-18 edge, the Cards answered with two quick points to regain the advantage.  Ahead 21-19, Otterbein rattled off four of the next five points to complete the sweep.

First-year Elena Lein paced the Big Red attack with 11 kills on 20 attempts with just one error, while Kuhn and Fischer each had six kills.  Setter Jessica Borsani handed out 26 assists and served up two aces.  Defensively, Marguerite finished with 17 digs, while junior Sarah Blum chipped in 10.

Kristen Bennet paced the Cardinals with nine kills, while Michelle Gernert and Liz Palmer had eight and seven finishers, respectively.  Tabatha Piper dished out 26 assists, while Annie Juenger logged 14 digs.

Denison falls to 18-9, while Otterbein improves to 21-7.  The Big Red closes out the regular season on Friday at Earlham.  Match time is slated for 7 p.m.