GRANVILLE, Ohio (November 3, 2022) – Following a regular season in which the Big Red went 6-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Denison University volleyball team has earned the No. 2 seed for the NCAC Tournament, which will be held on Friday, November 4, and Saturday, November 5, at Wittenberg University's Pam Evans Smith Arena. The tournament will feature seven matches in a single-elimination format across both days.

Earning a double-bye through the first two rounds of action, the Big Red will await the winner of No. 3 Ohio Wesleyan and No. 6 Wooster/No. 7 Kenyon in the tournament semifinals on Saturday (Nov. 5) at 11 a.m.

The Big Red finished the regular-season 12-12 overall and won each of their first five conference matches of the season without dropping a set. With the NCAC regular-season championship on the line at No. 9 nationally-ranked Wittenberg on October 22, the Big Red won the first set 25-12 and found themselves only two points away from the win up 13-10 in the fifth set before the Tigers rallied with five straight points to win it.

In the end, Denison was the only team from the North Coast Athletic Conference to take a set off Wittenberg this season, which should give the Big Red some confidence heading into the postseason. Wittenberg, meanwhile, will enter the postseason 21-4 overall to go along with an unblemished 7-0 record in NCAC play. This is the 23rd unbeaten NCAC regular season for the Wittenberg women's volleyball program. Head Coach Evelyn Carus-Miller has now led Wittenberg to a third NCAC regular season title in five seasons at the helm. This also marked Wittenberg's 26th overall NCAC regular-season crown and their ninth in 10 years.

Denison has been led all season long by the reigning NCAC Player of the Year Lucy Anderson (3.49 kills per set) and sophomore outside hitter Kelly McCaskey (2.18 K/S) while senior setter Sophie Tight is averaging 7.65 assists per set. Senior libero Jenna Corrao leads the Big Red with 4.82 digs per set and a total of 46 service aces while Anderson has accumulated 90 total blocks.

In all of the NCAC, Anderson leads the conference in points per set (4.49) while also ranking second in blocks per set (.96) and third in both kills per set and in hitting percentage (.348 pct.). Corrao, meanwhile, leads the conference in digs per set and is third in service aces per set (0.49) while Tight checks in at No. 4 in assists per set.

Conference Tournament Seeds and Schedule:
#1 Wittenberg (7-0)
#2 Denison (6-1)
#3 Ohio Wesleyan (5-2)
#4 DePauw (3-4)
#5 Hiram (3-4)
#6 Wooster (2-5)
#7 Kenyon (2-5)
#8 Oberlin (0-7)
Note: DePauw wins the head-to-head tiebreaker over Hiram for the fourth seed and Wooster wins the head-to-head tiebreaker over Kenyon for the sixth seed.

First-Round Matches - Friday, November 4, 4:00 p.m.
Match A - No. 5 Hiram vs. No. 8 Oberlin
Match B - No. 6 Wooster vs. No. 7 Kenyon

Quarterfinal Matches - Friday, November 4, 7:30 p.m.
Match C - Match A Winner vs. No. 4 DePauw
Match D - Match B Winner vs. No. 3 Ohio Wesleyan

Additionally, the NCAC Senior Recognition Ceremony and the announcement of the 2022 All-NCAC teams will take place immediately following the 4:00 p.m. matches on Friday.

Semifinal Matches - Saturday, November 5, 11:00 a.m.
Match E - Match C Winner vs. No. 1 Wittenberg
Match F - Match D Winner vs. No. 2 Denison

Championship Match - Saturday, November 5, 5:00 p.m.
Match G: Match E Winner vs. Match F Winner

Wittenberg (7-0) has won its league-leading 26th North Coast Athletic Conference volleyball championship after finishing the season with a perfect mark against league foes for the 23rd time overall.

Hiram, Kenyon and Ohio Wesleyan have each accumulated two championship titles, while Denison captured its first title last season and Wooster earned the inaugural conference championship in 1984.

Denison (6-1) finished second in the regular season standings, followed by Ohio Wesleyan (5-2), DePauw and Hiram (3-4), Kenyon and Wooster (2-5) and Oberlin (0-7).

As league champions, Wittenberg has earned the No. 1 seed and hosting rights for the 2022 NCAC Volleyball Tournament. The two-day, seven-match, single-elimination tournament will be held at Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield, Ohio, November 4-5.

In the first-round matches at 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Match A features No. 5 Hiram and No. 8 Oberlin, while Match B is a contest between No. 6 Wooster and No. 7 Kenyon. In the 7:30 p.m. time slot on Friday night, Match C will feature No. 4 DePauw against the Hiram/Oberlin winner, and Match D will pit No. 3 Ohio Wesleyan against the Kenyon/Wooster winner. Additionally, the NCAC Senior Recognition Ceremony and the announcement of the 2022 All-NCAC Teams will take place immediately following the 4:00 p.m. matches on Friday.

On Saturday, semifinal matches will be contested at 11:00 a.m., with the championship match set for 5:00 p.m. In the semifinal matches, No. 1 Wittenberg will meet the winner of Match C and No. 2 Denison will square off against the winner of Match D.

Tickets: Tickets for this weekend's NCAC Tournament can be purchased at the arena for $7 for adults and $3 for children (18 years of age and under). NCAC students will receive admission at no cost with proof of a student ID. Each ticket will garner you access to all matches occurring on that specific day.

Tourney Notes: The tournament winner receives the NCAC's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament ... Wittenberg is the reigning champion after capturing its league-leading 25th NCAC tournament title in 2021 … Kenyon (1986-87) and Ohio Wesleyan (1994, '96) each hold a pair of titles, while DePauw captured its first tournament title in 2019, Hiram claimed the 2006 title and Wooster earned the inaugural tournament championship in 1984 ... Wittenberg maneuvered its way through the tournament bracket a year ago by knocking off Ohio Wesleyan, 3-0, in the semifinals and Wooster, 3-0, in the championship match.

Media Coverage: To follow the action this postseason, please check out our Live Events page for all of the video and live stats details: https://denisonbigred.com/coverage
Live Video

Additional Links:
NCAC Tournament Page
NCAC Ticket Policy
Wittenberg Tournament Page