GRANVILLE, Ohio (September 29, 2021) – The Denison University volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-18, 25-21, 25-16) sweep over DePauw University in its first North Coast Athletic Conference match of the 2021 season.

Denison, which was the last team in the NCAC to play a conference match this year, improved to 10-5 overall and 1-0 in conference while DePauw fell to 8-6 and 1-2.

It was also the first time the Big Red and the Tigers have played since DePauw defeated Denison 3-1 back during the 2019 NCAC Tournament Championship match.

This time around, it was nearly all Big Red as Denison benefitted from 12 service aces and did not allow DePauw a single ace, all while holding a 41-29 edge in kills.

Denison trailed 5-2 early in the first set and found itself behind 10-9 before getting it going and using five straight points featuring two kills by Sophia Sobota to take the lead for good. A 7-0 run for the Big Red highlighted by three service aces by Lucy Anderson put Denison up 22-12, making it a 13-2 run overall for the home team. The first set featured six ties and three lead changes.

In the second set, Denison never trailed but also never led by more than four, however, the final set saw the Big Red jump out to an 8-2 lead after trailing 2-0 to start. Back-to-back service aces by Maddie Kurtz made it 13-3, and a kill by Daria Rodriguez made it 18-5. Half of Denison's service aces on the night came in the third set.

It was the usual suspects for the Big Red as Rodriguez led the way with 13 kills while Sobota had 12 and Anderson had eight kills and four aces. Anderson hit .375 percent while Sobota reached .310 percent.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, also added 11 digs while setter Kirby MacKinnon finished with 33 assists and 15 digs. It was the third straight double-double for both Rodriguez and MacKinnon, who were two of five players on the Big Red to reach double digits in digs. Jenna Corrao had 19 digs, Kurtz had 12 and Payton McElfresh added 10.

Last but not least, Sidney Gossard led the Big Red with three blocks.

Next up, Denison will play on the road for the first time in conference action as the Big Red travel to Hiram College for a 1 p.m. start time on Saturday, October 2.