GRANVILLE, Ohio – Thanks to three straight kills to end the fifth set, Denison volleyball defeated Kenyon College, 3-2 (25-18, 19-25, 25-13, 20-25, 15-11) on Saturday afternoon at Livingston Gymnasium.

The Big Red opened the match with nine combined kills from Leah Reinfranck and Kaila Kasper to take the first set, 25-18. After dropping the second set to the Ladies, Denison recovered with four straight points to start the third set while kills from Kasper and Isabella Pivec helped DU take a two sets to one lead.

Kenyon's Mackenzie Bruzzio and Alexi Donnelly combined for eight kills in the fourth set to tie the match at two sets each, forcing a fifth and final set.

After the Ladies opened the fifth set with three straight points, kills from sophomore Alex Tubbs and freshman Emma Woerner allowed the Big Red to string together six straight points and take a 12-9 lead in the final set. Leading 12-11, Tubbs, Woerner and Katie Aucamp finished three consecutive kills to give Denison the five-set victory.

The Big Red finished the match with five different players totaling 10 or more kills. Woerner led the team with 15 kills, while Tubbs finished with 13 kills and Reinfranck added 12. Julia Miller and Kaileigh Poe combined for 57 assists, as senior Kristin Thewes led the match with 35 digs. The win moved Denison to 9-8 overall.

Bruzzio and Delaney Swanson totaled 16 kills each for Kenyon, while Jensen Shurbert's 37 assists were a match-best. The loss dropped Kenyon to 12-7 overall, including their first loss in North Coast Athletic Conference play.

The Big Red will return to action next Wednesday, Oct. 11 as they travel to Springfield, Ohio for a match with Wittenberg University. The match is set to start at 7 p.m.