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The Capital University volleyball team will make its 19th consecutive appearance in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Tuesday as it takes on conference regular season co-champion Heidelberg in a quarterfinal match in Tiffin, Ohio.
The Crusaders (15-14 overall, 3-6 OAC) will be the No. 7 seed after placing seventh in the league standings during the regular season. Heidelberg (16-14, 8-1) is seeded second after sharing the regular season title with Mount Union, which defeated the 'Berg in four sets Saturday.
The winner of Tuesday's match moves on to play the winner of No. 6 Baldwin Wallace at No. 3 Otterbein in Friday's semifinals at the home site of the highest remaining seed in the tournament.
Capital has qualified for the tournament in every season since 1995, the second-longest current streak in the OAC. Only Ohio Northern, which has qualified for every tournament since its inception in 1984, has a longer standing run of postseason play.
The Crusaders enter the OAC Tournament off one of their finest performances of the 2013 campaign. Capital took two of the first three sets at No. 17 Otterbein Saturday before eventually falling 25-15, 23-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-10 against its nationally ranked cross-town rival.
Sophomore setter Katie Weilbacher (Grove City, Ohio) was just one kill shy of a rare triple-double, posting nine kills, 33 assists and 11 digs. Freshmen outside hitters Hanna Ewart (Wichita, Kan.) and Courtney McCracken (Newark, Ohio) continued their strong play with 12 and 11 kills, respectively. McCracken added 12 digs and a pair of blocks.
Junior libero Kelly Leonard (Cincinnati, Ohio) and sophomore defensive specialist Natalie Briggs (Pataskala, Ohio) led the back row with 16 and 14 digs, respectively.
Entering postseason play, Ewart leads the Crusaders in kills (272), kills per set (2.45) and hitting percentage (.213). Sophomore outside hitter Olivia Arledge (Chillicothe, Ohio) is close behind with 226 kills (2.26 per set) and a .199 hitting percentage, while McCracken has 223 kills, good for 2.12 per set.
Weilbacher leads the team in both assists (648, 5.84 per set) and service aces (41). Freshmen middle hitters Kristin Bender (Fremont, Ohio) and Mona Ratliff (South Charleston, Ohio) lead Capital in blocking. Thirty of Bender's team-best 84 blocks are solos, while Ratliff has 66 blocks, including 22 solos.
Leonard and Briggs lead the defense. Leonard leads the team and ranks in the top five in the OAC in digs (517) and digs per set (4.79). Briggs has 369 digs, including 3.35 per frame. Weilbacher (252), McCracken (247), junior setter Marissa Price (178) and sophomore defensive specialist Becca DeWitt (125) are also in triple-figures for the season in digs.
The Crusaders are 3-3 in their last six league matches, and their losses at Baldwin Wallace (Oct. 26) and Otterbein (last Saturday) were each in five sets.
Heidelberg is 14-6 in its last 20 matches after a 2-8 start to the season. Three of the 'Berg's eight conference wins were earned in five sets, and two others went four sets.
Heidelberg saw its five-match winning streak come to an end Saturday with a 25-19, 19-25, 25-15, 25-23 home loss against No. 11 Mount Union. Amber Welfle led the 'Berg with 12 kills, 12 digs and three blocks, while Sarah Botts contributed with 10 kills. Jamie Kluding added six kills and 12 digs for Heidelberg, which was held to a .080 hitting percentage in the contest.
Welfle enters the postseason as the OAC's leader in kills with 406, including 3.50 per set, which ranks second in the conference. Her hitting percentage of .292 ranks fifth in the league, while her 45 service aces (0.39 per set) are also fifth.
Sarah Parker has 311 kills and a team-high 83 blocks. Setters Alexa Frank and Stephanie Romie lead the 'Berg in assists with 576 and 477, respectively.
Jubilee Haase paces a balance Heidelberg defense with 353 digs. Grace Samenuk has 259 digs, while Welfle has 247.
Capital will be making its second trip to Tiffin of the season. Heidelberg hit .257 on Oct. 9 to defeat the Crusaders 25-19, 22-25, 25-14, 25-20. McCracken and Ewart combined for 23 kills to lead Capital in the match, while Welfle (16 kills), Parker (15) and Kluding (12) led the 'Berg.
Heidelberg has won the last seven meetings between the two teams. The Crusaders last defeated the 'Berg in 2006 en route to an NCAA Tournament berth.
