BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's volleyball team fell to the No. 16 Otterbein University Cardinals by a score of 2-3 (25-22, 18-25, 19-25, 25-20, 10-15) inside Ursprung Gymnasium in the Lou Higgins Center to fall to 16-6 and 3-3 in the OAC. This was the second five-set loss in just three days for the Yellow Jackets.
Match Recap
Set 1 (BW, 25-22): Freshman outside hitter
Brenna Leach led a 5-0 scoring run that started with a kill and continued at the serving line to put BW ahead 11-5. The Yellow Jackets held off the Cardinals until Otterbein came back to tie the match at 21-21 after a scoring run that included three attack errors from BW. Leach had two consecutive kills in the final two rallies to give BW an opening set victory. She excelled with six kills to start the match.
Set 2 (OTT, 25-18): Senior right side hitter
Lexi Smith led the offense with four kills, but BW ended up with seven attack errors to falter in the second set. The Cardinals found their rhythm offensively and applied the pressure for most of the set. There were seven ties and four lead changes given that neither team took a significant lead.
Set 3 (OTT, 25-19): The Cardinals built a five-point lead midway through the set before going on a 7-0 run to make the score 20-8. However, BW responded immediately with a 10-2 run to cut their deficit to four points. Otterbein was able to close out the set and take a 2-1 lead.
Set 4 (BW, 25-20): BW took their first lead at 3-2 and never looked back. This was their best set offensively with a .250 hitting efficiency on 13 kills and four errors. Smith led with four kills, including two back-to-back kills to give the Jackets a 16-11 lead. Otterbein was plagued by a match-high six service errors in an otherwise competitive set.
Set 5 (OTT, 15-10): Otterbein took a 6-2 lead to make BW fight an uphill battle. Although BW went on a 4-1 run to get within a point at 9-10, they couldn't catch the Cardinals as they went 5-1 to close out the match. Besides the Cardinals' four service errors, they played a clean set with nine kills and two attack errors for a .350 hitting percentage compared to the Yellow Jackets' .063.
The Matchup
The Yellow Jackets are now 4-19 against the Cardinals since 2008. The last seven matches have gone the way of the Cardinals. This was only the second time in that 17-year stretch where BW went to five sets with Otterbein. The other five set match was the loss in 2025 in Berea.
Looking Ahead
Baldwin Wallace will travel to Tiffin, Ohio on Wednesday, October 28 to take on the Heidelberg Student Princes inside Seiberling Gymnasium.
