ALLIANCE, Ohio -- After splitting on Friday night, the Denison volleyball team improved to 3-1 on the season with a Saturday sweep at the 2017 Mount Union Invitational. In the opening match, the Big Red defeated Grove City College, 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-18). Denison stayed hot in their second match of the day, blanking Alma College, 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-19).

Against Grove City, the Big Red controlled the tempo with a hitting percentage of .250 and a kill ratio of 35-23. Freshman Emma Woerner led the way for Denison with 11 kills and eight digs while senior Leah Reinfranck chipped in a .500 hitting percentage and seven kills. As a team, DU totaled 37 digs, seven of which came from both freshman Kaila Kasper and senior Kristin Thewes.

Denison stayed consistent throughout the match due to a combined 29 assists from Kaileigh Poe and Julia Miller.

For Grove City, sophomore Emma Hartshorn set the tone for the Wolverines, leading the team in both assists (17) and digs (5). Offensively, Elisabeth Sems totaled 7 kills, while Mikayla Bartley and Laura Buchanan provided four kills each.

Against Alma, Denison stayed dominant with a .240 hitting percentage and 34 kills. Kasper led DU with 11 kills and was third on the team with 11 digs, while Woerner helped with six kills and 12 digs.

Thewes paced the Big Red with 15 digs and Miller dished out 18 assists.

Offensively, the Scots were balanced by Kara Muxlow's nine kills and a .643 hitting percentage with help coming from Shafer's 13 assists and another 9 from Dakota Pelach.

The Big Red will return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 5 for their home opener against Mount Vernon Nazarene University. The match is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.