GRANVILLE, Ohio (August 30, 2021) – The Denison University women's volleyball team and fifth-year Head Coach Carter Cassell are ready for their next chapter as a program. The Big Red will head into the new 2021 season with high expectations after being picked to finish second in the NCAC Preseason Poll.

In 2019, Coach Cassell and the Big Red enjoyed a breakthrough season where Denison posted records of 18-8 overall and 6-2 in the conference while also reaching the NCAC Tournament Championship match. Cassell was named the NCAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career following the team's success, which featured the team's best regular-season finish (second place) since 2013 and had a 10-match winning streak from September 14 – October 8, the longest winning streak in program history since 1993. In Coach Cassell's three full seasons with the Big Red, Denison has won 46 matches and has advanced to the NCAC Tournament in all three seasons.

So far during the team's preseason training, Coach Cassell is extremely impressed with the buy in and level of play his team has displayed so far.

"This has been the best preseason for our program in my five years at Denison," said Cassell. "Not only in our level of play and the depth on our roster, but the overall focus and commitment to getting better every day. Our four first-year players have adjusted really well to our gym and they are looking to make an immediate impact on the court for us. The team has set some big goals for themselves, but most importantly, they are bought into the standards that it will take for us to reach our potential in November."

Junior middle hitter Lucy Anderson earned the NCAC Newcomer of the Year honor and was First-Team All-NCAC in 2019. Anderson tallied nine multi-kill performances during her freshman campaign, including a career-best 18 kills in Denison's thrilling five-set victory over Ohio Wesleyan University on October 8, 2019. She added a season-high eight blocks against the College of Wooster on October 12.

Anderson was Denison's second-straight NCAC Newcomer of the Year after teammate Payton McElfresh garnered the honor in 2018. McElfresh is entering her senior season as an outside hitter for the Big Red on this year's team.

Junior setter Sophie Tight was named Honorable Mention All-NCAC as a freshman in 2019 after leading the conference with 9.45 assists per set.

Other key returners for the Big Red in 2021 will include starting libero Jenna Corrao, and sophomores Sophia Sobota and Corinne Boyd, who are both looking to take on big roles for the team in their first full collegiate seasons. 

After the cancelation of the 2020 season, Denison is looking to build off its 2019 success that saw it reach the NCAC Championship match, however, the Big Red will be put to the test facing six opponents that were nationally ranked in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 national poll.

Those six nationally-ranked teams are No. 16 Muskingum University (Sept. 4), No. 22 Otterbein University (Sept. 7), No. 7 Hope College (Sept. 10), No. 3 Calvin College (Sept. 11), No. 14 Ohio Northern University (Sept. 18) and No. 11 Transylvania University (Oct. 30).

"This is definitely the strongest schedule we have ever played," spoke Coach Cassell. "You cannot really schedule much tougher than we did this year."

The Big Red will begin their new 2021 season at home against Marietta College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 1, before heading to Ada, Ohio, for three matches against Hanover College, Mount St. Joseph University and Muskingum at the ONU Invitational September 3-4.

Then, the team's NCAC opener will be a rematch of the 2019 NCAC Volleyball Championship match as Denison welcomes DePauw University into Livingston Gymnasium on September 29.

To follow the action all season long, please check out our Live Events page for all of the video and live stats details: https://denisonbigred.com/coverage