GRANVILLE, Ohio (September 25, 2021) – The Denison University volleyball team defeated John Carroll University 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-20, 25-20) in the first match of the Denison Tri-Match, but then fell 3-1 (25-13, 21-25, 26-24, 25-23) in a competitive contest against Earlham College during the final match of the day.

The two matches were highlighted statistically by back-to-back doubles-doubles from both freshman outside hitter Daria Rodriguez and sophomore setter Kirby MacKinnon.

In the first match of the day, Denison (9-5 overall) had three players reach 15-plus kills, had five players reach double digits in digs, and had three players set new career-highs.

Sophia Sobota led the Big Red with a new career-high 19 kills, followed by Rodriguez with 16 and Lucy Anderson with a season-high 15 kills. Rodriguez also added a career-high 17 digs (at the time) for her third double-double as a freshman.

MacKinnon finished with 49 assists and a career-high 16 digs to record her second double-double of the season and the fourth of her career.

In addition to Jenna Corrao's 22 digs, senior Payton McElfresh had a season-high 14 digs, and Maddie Kurtz added 11.

The Big Red never trailed in the opening set against John Carroll (7-9) and went up 16-10 after a 4-0 run featuring three kills by Anderson.

The Blue Streaks got back to within two at 22-20 before a JCU service error and attack error gave Denison set point. Two points later, Anderson ended it with her sixth kill of the opening set.

Also at the end of the first set, MacKinnon was well on her way to her double-double with 13 assists and six digs.

Unlike the first set when Denison never trailed, it never led in the second set. The Big Red trailed 14-8 but got back to within three at 15-12 thanks to a 4-1 run featuring two more kills by Anderson. From there, the two teams traded points until the Blue Streaks scored three in a row to go up by six again at 21-15.

Both teams hit .170 percent in the opening set, but in the second set, Denison hit -0.020 percent.

The third set started with Anderson's 10th, 11th and 12th kills of the match to give Denison a 3-0 lead, and the Big Red never looked back en route to hitting .300 percent.

Denison then carried that momentum into the fourth set, leading 8-1 on three kills by Sobota.

Against Earlham (11-4), Denison overcame a tough first set to win the second set after withstanding a 5-0 Earlham run to get within one of the Big Red at 20-19.

In the third set, Denison had match-point up 24-23 after a kill by Rodriguez, however, back-to-back kills and an assisted block by the Quakers made it 2-1 Earlham. Then in the fourth set, back-to-back kills by Denison's Corinne Boyd and Sobota tied it at 23-23 before two Big Red attack errors gave the Quakers the win.

Individually against Earlham, Rodriguez and MacKinnon both had their second double-doubles of the day as Rodriguez had 15 kills and a new career-best 24 digs while MacKinnon had 47 assists and 14 digs.

The Big Red will now head into the start of North Coast Athletic Conference action as Denison wraps up a four-match homestand by hosting DePauw University at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, September 29, inside Livingston Gymnasium.