The Denison volleyball team picked up its eighth victory of the season after handing Franciscan University a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-12, 25-13) loss on Monday night at Livingston Gymnasium in Granville.

The Big Red and Lady Barons split the opening two sets by very close margins.  DU knocked off Franciscan 25-21 in the opener, while the visiting team squared the match with a 25-22 decision in the second.

After dropping the second set, Denison woke up and handed it to the Lady Barons via 25-12 score.  In the fourth set, the Big Red fell behind early before a string of eight-successful serves by Emily Marguerite put DU in front 11-4, forcing a Franciscan timeout.  During that string, the junior libero served up three-straight aces.  The Lady Barons shrunk the deficit to 18-12 before DU scored seven of the next eight points to secure the victory.

Sophomore Brittany Perry paced the Denison attack with 10 kills, while senior Lauren Gustafson, sophomore Elena Lein and freshman Rachele Lock added seven finishers a piece.  Marguerite finished the match with a career-high six aces, while setter Jessica Borsani dished out 23 assists.  In addition to her service, Marguerite also posted a game-best 29 digs.

Amy O'Keefe led the Lady Barons with a game-best 11 kills, while Jennifer Pagano logged eight kills. O'Keefe and Rachel Potopa each handed out 11 assists.  Defensively, Samantha Kelly had 20 digs, while Emily Baznik recorded a solo block and three block assists.

Denison improves to 8-3 on the year, while Franciscan falls to 4-7.  The Big Red returns to action on Wednesday when they travel to Ohio Northern for a 7 p.m. match.