BLUFFTON, Ohio (September 15, 2021) – The Denison University volleyball team got off to a great start in the first two sets and ultimately defeated Bluffton College 3-1 (25-14, 25-13, 23-25, 25-20) on the road on Wednesday night.

It was the first true road match of the season for Denison (5-4 overall), which hit .300 in the opening set and .310 percent in the second set while limiting Bluffton (3-7) to a hitting percentage of -0.030 percent in the second set.

The Big Red jumped out to an early lead of 11-4 in the first set and then led 17-7 in the second set.

In the third set, however, Denison faced an 18-12 deficit midway through before coming back to tie it at 20-20 on a kill and then a solo block by Lucy Anderson. Then tied at 22-22, a kill by the setter, Kirby MacKinnon, put the Big Red up one, but they could not hold on as the Beavers forced a fourth set with three straight points to win it.

In the final set, the Big Red hit .353 percent but trailed 14-12 before a huge 6-0 run featuring three kills by Anderson to take control up 18-14.  

In the end, Denison put up some gaudy individual numbers offensively as Daria Rodriguez matched her career-high with 18 kills, Anderson had a season-high 12 kills and a .524 attack percentage, Sophia Sobota had 11 kills and a .500 attack percentage, and Corinne Boyd had eight kills with a .533 attack percentage. MacKinnon, meanwhile, dished out 45 assists.

Anderson also got into the act defensively with a new career-high seven blocks while Jenna Corrao added 20 digs.

Next up for Denison will be the Ginny Hunt Kilt Classic, hosted by the College of Wooster on Saturday, September 18. The Big Red will battle No. 8 nationally-ranked Ohio Northern University first at 12 p.m. followed by Roanoke College at 2 p.m.