PITTSBURGH, Pa. – On the second day of the Carnegie Mellon Invitational, Denison volleyball split a pair of matches, defeating Haverford College, 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 18-25, 25-14), and then losing to DeSales University, 3-2 (21-25, 25-16, 26-24, 18-25, 7-15).

Against Haverford, Denison won the first two sets thanks to multiple kills from Isabella Pivec and freshman Emma Woerner. The Fords stole the third set, 25-18, but eight kills by Kaila Kasper in the fourth set helped DU win the match, 3-1.

The Big Red totaled four different players with double-digit kills, led by Kasper who finished with 13 and 11 digs. Senior Leah Reinfranck's 12 kills were second best on the team, while Julia Miller and Kaileigh Poe combined for 50 assists.

Against DeSales, Denison dropped the first set 25-21, but set-sealing kills from Miller and Kasper in the second and third sets, respectively, allowed DU to rally back for two-straight set victories and to take a 2-1 lead.

The Bulldogs then opened the fourth set with an 8-1 scoring run and never looked back, as multiple kills from Morghan Shoemaker and Grace Merritt kept the Big Red at bay and secured the 3-2 win for DeSales.

Five different players recorded 10 or more kills for Denison, led by Reinfranck's 13.  She needs only 10 kills to reach 1,000 for her career. Woerner, Alex Tubbs and Kathryn Boyd all finished right behind Reinfranck with 12 kills, while Tubbs' .435 hitting percentage was a match-best. Poe added 25 assists for the match and senior Kristin Thewes contributed a match-high 36 digs.

The Big Red will return to action next Wednesday, Oct. 25 when they travel to Wooster, Ohio to take on the College of Wooster for a 7 p.m. start.