TIFFIN, Ohio -- Following four tightly contested sets, the Denison volleyball team cruised past Heidelberg in the decisive set to earn a 3-2 (20-25, 25-23, 25-27, 25-23, 15-5) victory on Tuesday night at Seiberling Gymnasium.

After dropping a five-point decision in the opening set, the Big Red posted a .342 attacking percentage in the second en route to a 25-23 win that squared the match at 1-1. The Berg were 27-25 winners before another 25-23 DU victory in the fourth pushed the match into a fifth set.

In that decisive set, sophomore Isabella Pivec and freshman Alex Tubbs opened the scoring with a double block, while Pivec followed that up with a kill. Heidelberg responded with back-to-back points to even the set. Up 4-3, the Big Red went on a 6-0 run to take a seven-point lead. Senior Rachele Lock and junior Leah Reinfranck recorded consecutive finishers, while junior Kristin Thewes served up an ace that forced the Berg to burn their first timeout.

Out of the stoppage, the Berg's Sarah Parker committed an attacking error before Reinfranck and Pivec closed out the run with back-to-back kills. Parker ended the run after Heidelberg's second timeout. After Pivec and Janessa Scott exchanged finishers, a serving and attacking error by the home team put Denison two points away from the win. Lock recorded a service ace to set up match point, while Reinfranck's 13th finish of the night brought the match to an end.

Five different athletes recorded double-digit kills for DU led by Lock's 16. Along with Reinfranck, Pivec also had 13 kills, while Tubbs and Sarah Bradley had 11 and 10, respectively. Reinfranck posted a match-high .478 attacking percentage after committing just two errors in 23 attempts. Julia Miller dished out 49 assists, while Lock (4) and Thewes (3) combined for seven of the team's nine service aces.

Defensively, Thewes finished with 29 digs, while Miller had 17 and Lock chipped in 11. Tubbs paced the Big Red at the net with six blocks, including five block assists, while Pivec had four block assists.

Parker paced the Berg with 21 kills, while Karlie DiRuzza had 49 assists. Mariah Sullivan had eight total blocks and Rachel Raimondo came up with 25 digs.

Denison improves to 5-9, while Heidelberg falls to 8-6. The Big Red returns to action on Saturday when they open North Coast Athletic Conference play at Kenyon. Match time is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.