The Denison volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23) decision at Muskingum University on Wednesday evening.

The Big Red offense struggled to find their rhythm as they dropped the opening set, 25-18.  DU led for the majority of the second set.  The Muskies engineered a late-game rally to trim the deficit to 24-23, but Denison held on for a 25-23 victory.

The third game was very similar to the second as the two squads battled back-and-forth for the entire set.  Down two, senior libero Brooke Beavers served up two points to tie the match at 24-all.  However, Muskingum rattled off back-to-back tallies to earn the 26-24 decision.

In set number four, the Muskies jumped out to another early lead en route to building a 20-16 advantage.  Denison rallied to tie the match at 23-23 thanks to a pair of kills by sophomore Lauren Gustafson and multiple hitting errors by Muskingum.  However, the home team overcame adversity and finished off the four-set win.

Senior Lauren Strowder ended the night with a match-high 17 kills, while Gustafson added 16 kills.  Beavers recorded 35 digs and five service aces, while rookie Emily Marguerite posted 25 digs.  Gustafson and sophomore Madison Owen each had a solo block and a block assist, while senior setter Claire Koneval dished out 32 assists.

Denison falls to 4-2 overall, while the Muskies improve to 4-2 on the year.  DU returns to action this weekend when they compete at the 13th Annual Marcia French Memorial Tournament hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College.  The Big Red open tournament play against Carnegie Mellon on Friday (Sept. 9) at 6 p.m.