ADA, Ohio (September 4, 2021) – Day two of the Ohio Northern University Invitational started with the first loss of the 2021 season for the Denison University volleyball team, a 3-1 (25-12, 25-18, 24-26, 25-22) defeat to nationally-recognized Mount St. Joseph University, but then it ended with a big 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-23) sweep for the Big Red over No. 16 nationally-ranked Muskingum University.

Daria Rodriguez and Sophie Tight highlighted the win statistically for Denison (3-1 overall) over Muskingum (3-2) as Rodriguez had 14 kills on a .344 attack percentage and Tight had another double-double with 34 assists and 16 digs.

Rodriguez had now reached double digits in kills in all four of Denison's matches to open the season while Tight has two double-doubles through four matches and has recorded at least 30 assists in three straight matches.

In addition to Rodriguez, also putting down the kills after the passes from Tight was Lucy Anderson with nine kills, Sophia Sobota with seven and Corinne Boyd also with seven but on a .429 attack percentage.

Denison hit .361 percent as a team in the first set and .306 percent in the third set while finishing strong in all three frames.

Tied 16-16 in the first set, the Big Red took control with four straight points to start a 9-3 run to win it. In the second set, it was only a one-point Denison lead at 22-21 before three straight points by the Big Red to win it. Lastly, in the third set, Denison trailed 23-22 before a Muskingum attack error, a service ace by Rodriguez, and a kill by Boyd to finish it off.

Earlier in the day in its first match, Denison allowed Mount St. Joseph (4-1) to hit .324 percent in the first set while being held to -.079 percent itself.

Sobota led the Big Red with 12 kills while Rodriguez had 11 to reach double-digit kills for the third straight match to open the season.

Tight had 31 assists to record her second straight 30-plus assist effort, Jenna Corrao had her second straight 25-plus dig match with 27 this time around, and Kirby MacKinnon had 11 assists while Maddie Kurtz added 10 digs.

Tied 21-21 in set number four, Denison had a chance to force a fifth set, but three straight points by the Lions made it a three-point margin, and a kill by Rodriguez broke up the 3-0 run before a final kill for Mount St. Joseph ended it.

Next up for Denison volleyball will be the second of three straight matches against a nationally-ranked nonconference opponent. This time, it will be a home matchup with No. 22 Otterbein University at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 7.