The Big Red volleyball team rallied from a two-set deficit to force a fifth set against sixth-ranked Wittenberg University on Thursday night at Livingston Gymnasium in Granville. Denison almost completed the come-from-behind win, but a late rally helped propel the nationally-ranked Tigers to a 3-2 victory (25-16, 25-13, 22-25, 21-25, 15-7).

Thursday's match marked the first time since Oct. 6, 2001 that DU pushed Wittenberg to five sets, a match the Tigers went on to win 3-2. Denison became the first NCAC team to win two sets against Wittenberg since they suffered a 3-0 conference loss at Hiram on Sept. 26, 2010. Thursday was also just the third time since 2007 that Witt has gone to five sets in NCAC play.

The sixth-ranked Tigers looked to have things well in hand after taking the first two sets 25-16 and 25-13. The visiting team combined for 29 kills and just five errors en route to build a 2-0 lead.Unlike the first two sets where the Big Red fell behind big early on, Denison hung right with the Tigers in the third. Trailing 9-7, junior Brittany Perry returned service to DU with a kill. Freshman Kristin Thewes followed that play with back-to-back aces that gave Denison a 10-9 edge which resulted in a Wittenberg timeout.

Still in front 11-10, the Big Red opened up a four-point lead behind consecutive kills from sophomore Rachele Lock and a double block by junior Annemarie Fischer and freshman Leah Reinfranck. The double rejection changed the momentum of the set and forced the Tigers to burn their final timeout. DU continued to play well following the stoppage, getting kills from Lock and Fischer to gain a six-point advantage. Despite trailing by as many as seven (18-11), Wittenberg continued to claw back and would eventually shrink the deficit to 23-22. However, back-to-back net violations by the Tigers pushed the match into a fourth set.

The third-set victory marked the first time since 2009 that the Big Red went more than three sets with Wittenberg. Tied 4-4 in the fourth, Denison engineered a 5-0 run that features an Elena Lein kill, two DU double blocks and a pair of Tiger miscues. Lein was involved in both blocks, teaming up with Elsa Manning and Perry. Witt cut the margin to two, but an 11-5 run gave the Big Red a 20-12 advantage. The Tigers were able to get as close as 24-21 late, but an attacking error by Melissa Emming tied the match at 2-2.

After committing just five errors in the first two sets, Wittenberg had racked up 12 attacking mistakes in the next two. The fifth-and-final set was close early on, but a 6-2 spurt helped put the visiting team in front when the two teams changed benches. Denison rattled off three-straight points to make it an 8-6 contest after the switch thanks to a Perry kill and two Tiger miscues. However, Wittenberg rattled off seven of the final eight points to stave off the upset bid.

Lock finished with a team-best 13 kills, while Reinfranck posted a .600 attacking percentage with 10 kills and just one error in 15 attempts. She also had two block assists. Perry also helped the offense with eight kills. Jessica Borsani and Kaileigh Poe combined for 43 assists, while Thewes finished with two aces to go along with 14 digs. Senior Emily Marguerite, Thewes and Kristen Brennan played big roles defensively for DU. The trio combined for 37 of the teams 74 digs. Marguerite led the way with 15, while Brennan chipped in eight. Borsani and Poe also had 13 and 12, respectively.

Kara Seidenstricker paced the Tigers with 18 kills to go along with six block assists, while Meghan Vodopich dished out 30 assists and recorded 10 digs. Emily Kahlig had one solo block and a game-high nine block assists, while Kiah Murray paced the defense with 14 digs.

Denison falls to 7-10 overall and 0-2 in the NCAC, while Wittenberg improves to 13-3 and 4-0 in league play. The Big Red returns to action on Saturday when they travel Meadville, Pa. for a 1 p.m. match with Allegheny.