The Denison volleyball team dropped a 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-15) decision at Ohio Northern University on Tuesday evening at the ONU Sports Center in Ada, Ohio.

The Polar Bears jumped out to an early lead in the first set and never looked back as they cruised to a 10-point victory.

Trailing 12-8 in the second game, the Big Red rattled off five-straight points to take their first lead of the match at 13-12.  The DU rally was highlighted by kills from rookie Emily Marguerite and senior Megan Early, an ace by senior Brooke Beavers, and a combination block by Early and first-year Elsa Manning.  Ohio Northern answered with nine unanswered points to regain a 21-13 lead.  Denison closed the gap to 24-21 thanks to an 8-3 run, but a kill by ONU's Ellen Grenert secured the Polar Bear win.

After a hard-fought second set, Ohio Northern took an early lead in the third game en route to securing the three-set victory.

Senior Kristen Hughes and sophomore Lauren Gustafson paced the Big Red attack with six kills each, while Early finished with five finishers.  Senior setter Claire Koneval dished out 20 assists.  Defensively, Beavers had a team-high nine digs, while Marguerite logged six digs.  At the net, Manning and Early each had two block assists.

Grenert logged a game-high nine kills to lead the Polar Bears, while Hannah English handed out 21 assists.  Jeni Kmic had 15 digs, while Kristen Davidson recorded four block assists.

Denison falls to 5-7 overall, while ONU improves to 5-7 on the year.  DU returns to action this weekend at the first North Coast Athletic Conference Weekend hosted by Kenyon College.  The Big Red open play in Gambier against Oberlin at 2 p.m.