BEXLEY, Ohio (October 16, 2021) – The Denison University volleyball team earned two nonconference wins on Saturday at The Capital Center, defeating the University of Mount Union 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-17) before coming right back to the court to take down host Capital University 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-16).

Denison improved to 16-5 overall and has now won seven straight and 12 of its last 13 matches. Previously, the Big Red were 0-5 against Mount Union since 2007 but were 8-0 against Capital since 2012.

In the first set against Mount Union, the two teams were tied at 17-17 before an assisted block by Lucy Anderson and Sophia Sobota made it 19-17 Big Red. From there, however, the two teams split every other point from 19-19 to 24-24 until finally, Denison won it on a block by Corinne Boyd followed by another kill by Sobota.

Daria Rodriguez, the reigning North Coast Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week, had eight kills on a .471 hitting percentage in the first set while Kirby MacKinnon had 15 assists and Jenna Corrao had nine digs.

From there, Denison amped up the offensive pressure and hit .333 percent in the second set and .326 percent in the third. The Big Red won the second set on a 7-1 run featuring five straight points to end it, and then in the third set they led 23-11.

The Big Red tallied 16 kills in each of the first two sets followed by 18 in the third. Rodriguez led the way with 18 kills on a .375 hitting percentage, Sobota had 15 kills with a .333 hitting percentage, and Anderson added 10 kills all while MacKinnon dished out 43 assists.

Defensively, Corrao had 24 digs, Payton McElfresh had 10, and Rodriguez and Maddie Kurtz both had nine while Anderson had four blocks and Rodriguez and Boyd both had three.

In the match against Capital, Rodriguez had 16 kills and 12 digs for a double-double, and MacKinnon had 41 assists and 10 digs for a double-double as well. Anderson had 13 kills on ridiculous .722 hitting percentage and Sobota had 10 kills. Defensively, Corrao had 14 digs, McElfresh had 12, and Anderson and Boyd both had three blocks.

Next up, Denison will return to North Coast Athletic Conference action with two road matches next week, first at Oberlin College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 19, and then at Allegheny College at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 23.