After posting a 6-3 mark on the road to open the season, the Big Red opened up their home schedule with a dominating 3-0 victory over John Carroll on Tuesday evening in Granville.

Denison jumped out of the gate to take a commanding lead in the opening set against JCU. After grabbing an early lead, DU poured on the pressure eventually routing the visitors 25-12.  The Blue Streaks regained their legs in the second, but another strong performance led the Big Red to a 25-18 win in the second set.

The third set was a battle as JCU looked to extend the match, while Denison tried to put away their opponent.  With the score tied at 23-23, a block by Elena Lein put Denison one point away from ending the match.  Serving up match point, Sarah Blum sent a rocket off the chest of JCU libero Sara Kaminski. The serve deflected off Kaminski and fell to the floor, securing Denison's seventh in the first 10 matches.

Lein and freshman Rachele Lock lead the Denison attack with eight kills apiece, while senior Lauren Gustafson added six finishers.  Jessica Borsani and Carly Newell recorded 14 and 13 assists, respectively, while five different players recorded an ace.  Junior libero Emily Marguerite paced the defense with 21 digs, while Lein had two solo blocks and one block assist.

Sarah Orlandi paced the Blue Streaks with seven kills, while Alexa Webber had six.  Jessica Kodrich dished out 19 assists, while Kaminski finished with 11 digs.

Denison improves to 7-3, while John Carroll falls to 5-5.  The Big Red returns to the court on Monday when they host Franciscan at 7 p.m.