LEXINGTON, Ky. (October 30, 2021) – The Denison University volleyball team dropped the first set and came back to take a 2-1 set lead before ultimately falling 3-2 (25-17, 15-25, 21-25, 25-18, 15-5) in its 2021 regular-season finale at Transylvania University.

The Big Red were led by Lucy Anderson with 18 kills, seven blocks, six digs and four service aces, all while hitting .350 percent for the match. It was her second match in a row with 18 kills, tying her career-high yet again.

Daria Rodriguez finished with 13 kills and 15 digs for her third straight and eighth overall double-double as a freshman, and she also added three blocks.

Carly Tenaglia finished with a season-high seven kills while Kirby MacKinnon dished out 35 assists and Jenna Corrao added 23 digs.

Payton McElfresh chipped in with seven digs and three aces while Maddie Kurtz had seven digs as well, Sidney Gossard had five kills, and Corinne Boyd matched Rodriguez with three blocks.

Starting with back-to-back kills by Tenaglia assisted by MacKinnon, Denison won the second set by scoring nine of the final 10 points, and then the Big Red never trailed in the third set.

In the fifth set, however, a kill by Gossard assisted by MacKinnon made it 5-5 before a crushing 10-0 run for the Pioneers featuring seven Big Red attack errors.

Denison hit -.031 percent in the first set and was even lower at -.097 percent in the fifth while Transylvania hit .320 percent in the first and was then even better in the fifth at .389 percent.

With the loss, Denison finishes its regular season with a record of 19-6 overall, and will now look to refocus with a week off before hosting the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament next weekend. By virtue of their first-ever regular season championship, the Big Red have earned a bye into the NCAC semifinals at 12 p.m. on Saturday, November 6. Should Denison win that one, the NCAC Tournament Championship match is slated for 7 p.m. later that evening.