DANVILLE, Ky. (September 16, 2023) – The final day of the Colonel Invitational saw the Denison University volleyball team rally from down two sets to zero to win its first match of the day, 3-2 (13-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19, 15-11), over Birmingham-Southern College. The Big Red then got right back onto the court to take on the No. 14 nationally-ranked team in NCAA Division III, Berry College (Ga.), but Denison fell to the Vikings by a score of 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-19).
 
Match 1 (Denison 3, Birmingham-Southern 2):

• It was the first-ever matchup between Denison and BSC.
• Denison hit an effective .333 percent (9 kills, 2 errors) in the first set, but was outdone by BSC's 15 kills to just one error (.467 percent).
• The comeback started with Denison trailing 22-20 in the third set before a pair of Panthers' attack errors, the second of which came on a combined block by Cailey Johns and Maxon Perkins, tied it at 22-22.
• Then after an attack error by the Big Red, Denison won the final three points on another BSC attack error, a kill by Claire Hamilton and a combined block by Corinne Boyd and Perkins.
• Denison then led big (23-14) in the fourth set before a 5-0 Panthers' run cut it to 23-19, but a kill by Johns and another combined block by Johns and Perkins got it to a fifth and final set.
• Tied 9-9 in the fifth set, Denison got a 5-0 run of its own featuring three kills and a block by Boyd to bring up match-point.
• Three points later, a service error by the Panthers gave Denison the comeback victory.
• As well as Denison hit in the fourth set (.393 percent, 14 kills, 3 errors), they were even more effective in the final set at .692 percent (10 kills, 1 error).
• Boyd led the way with 16 kills on an epic .750 attack percentage.
• She was followed by Johns with 14 kills on a .393 attack percentage while Hamilton added eight kills, Alice Kempf finished with 35 assists, and Sadie Habeeb had 17 digs.
• Boyd also made her presence felt defensively with six blocks while Perkins contributed with five blocks and Johns had four.

 
Match 2 (Denison 0, No. 14 Berry 3):

• It was the first matchup between Denison and Berry since their first-ever meeting in 2016, a 3-2 win for the Vikings in Cleveland, Ohio.
• Denison led by six (16-10) in the second set and was up 17-12 after a kill by Boyd, but a devastating 7-0 run for Berry started an even bigger 10-2 run to put the Vikings in front by a score of 22-19.
• Denison got back to within one on back-to-back kills by Johns and Kelly McCaskey, but back-to-back Big Red attack errors followed by a kill for Berry made it 2-0.
• The final set saw Berry jump out to a 13-4 lead before Denison tied it at 17-17 on a kill by Hamilton to cap a 13-4 run.
• However, the next two points went to Berry on a service error and a kill, and then after a Vikings' service error, another kill and another ace by Berry made it a 21-18 lead.
• A kill by Hamilton made it 21-19 before Berry finished off the day with the final four points.
• Boyd and Hamilton both recorded nine kills while Kempf had 29 assists and 12 digs. Habeeb also had 12 digs while McCaskey added 11.

Next Up: The Big Red will now play at Marietta College beginning at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 19, before opening up North Coast Athletic Conference action at home against DePauw University on Saturday, September 23.