GRANVILLE, Ohio (September 6, 2023) – After being unable to play at Muskingum University the night before, the Denison University volleyball team returned to action at home against the Fighting Muskies on Wednesday night. Despite nearly going up two sets to one against a tough opponent, the Big Red ultimately fell by a final score of 3-1 (25-19, 21-25, 25-23, 25-15), suffering their first defeat of the 2023 campaign.

Muskingum got off to a quick start, recording three straight kills to open the match and jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first set.

The Big Red cut the deficit to 15-12 on back-to-back kills by Maeve Perry and setter Alice Kempf and then back-to-back kills by Corinne Boyd and Kelly McCaskey made it a 21-17 deficit before Muskingum earned the first-set win.

Muskingum finished with five blocks in the opening set but had only one in the second set while making six service errors.

Denison led 11-6 in set number two after a 6-0 run ending with a combined block by McCaskey and Cailey Johns.

Then tied at 15-15, the two teams traded points until back-to-back Muskie attack errors made it 21-19 Big Red.

A big kill by Ayla Dunbar made it a 22-20 Denison lead before a solo block by Boyd and another kill by Dunbar got the Big Red to set point.

Two points later, a bad set by Muskingum tied the match up at one set apiece.

Set number three was tight throughout as a 3-0 Big Red run featuring another kill by Dunbar and back-to-back Muskie attack errors made it a three-point Denison advantage up 16-13.

Then after a kill by Kempf made it 19-15 Big Red, a 5-0 Muskingum run gave the Muskies the lead until Johns answered with a kill to tie it at 20-20.

Tied at 22-22, Denison came up on the short end of a jump ball at the net and then a big-time block by Boyd and Perry tied it again before a somehow even bigger block by the Muskies gave them set point.

With momentum on its side, Muskingum took advantage of an overpass by the Big Red to finish off the set with a kill, and then the final set saw the Muskies jump out to a 17-7 lead.

The Muskies finished with only one attack error and hit .417 percent in the final set to pick up their first win of the season (1-4 overall).

Kempf (29 assists, 18 digs) and McCaskey (11 kills, 12 digs) both recorded their second-straight double-doubles while Sadie Habeeb and Boyd chipped in defensively with 18 digs and four blocks, respectively.

Dunbar, meanwhile, would ultimately finish the night with a new career-high of eight kills while also adding eight digs.

Next up for the Big Red will be the MIAA/NCAC Crossover hosted by Wittenberg University this weekend in Springfield, Ohio. Denison will take on a trio of strong opponents as they battle No. 3 Hope at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 8, followed by No. 4 Calvin University at 10 a.m. and Albion College at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 9.