GRANVILLE, Ohio (Oct. 23) – The Denison University volleyball team stayed perfect in North Coast Athletic Conference play with a sweep over visiting Oberlin College Wednesday evening in Livingston Gymnasium.
The win moves the Big Red to 4-0 in NCAC play and 10-10 overall. The loss drops the Yeowomen to 1-3 in the conference and 4-14 overall.
Denison 3, Oberlin 0 (25-6, 25-16, 25-18)
Denison started strong by opening up a quick double-digit lead which forced Oberlin to use both of its timeouts. Denison tallied six-straight points, which included kills by
Claire Hamilton and
Cailey Johns. With the score at 8-4, Denison tallied seven additional points in a row to bolster its lead.
Alice Kempf recorded a pair of service aces during the spurt that stretched the advantage into double figures at 15-4. Denison ran away with things from there as they secured the first set by a lopsided 25-6 score. The Big Red put together a .588 hitting percentage during the opening set.
The second set was more of the same as the Big Red raced out to an early lead on their way to victory. Denison racked up 18 kills and put together a .378 hitting percentage as they won by a 25-16 score. The Big Red registered seven of the first nine points to force an Oberlin timeout. A little later, three-straight kills for Denison forced Oberlin to use its second timeout of the set with the score at 18-6.
Ayla Dunbar tacked on two more kills in between a kill by
Maeve Perry. Denison's lead reached as many as 12 points during the second set.
Things were more competitive throughout the third set. Denison broke a 4-4 tie with four-straight points, but Oberlin remained within distance for a good stretch of the third. The Big Red were able to push the lead back to four points when back-to-back kills by Perry and Johns made it 15-11. Oberlin was able to trim the deficit to as few as three points when back-to-back points made it 18-15. However, the Big Red responded with three-straight points, all off kills by Hamilton, to move the lead to six points and effectively put things out of reach. Denison scored the final three points to finish off the sweep.
Denison recorded 41 kills and a strong .345 hitting percentage for the match. Meanwhile, Oberlin was limited to 18 kills and a hit just .050 over the three sets.
Dunbar and Hamilton both finished in double figures with 13 kills and 11 kills, respectively.
Kempf finished with 34 assists. Johns had the team-high with three total blocks.
Sadie Habeeb tallied 10 digs as well from her libero spot.
Ryan Kotalik filled the stat sheet with 10 digs and three service aces.
Additionally, Kempf and Johns added a pair of service aces.
Up Next: Denison returns to action with a home match versus Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, Oct. 26. In conjunction with the match, the Big Red will host Senior Day at Livingston Gymnasium. The match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
