WOOSTER, Ohio (Oct. 9) – The Denison University volleyball team overcame a slow start and stayed perfect in North Coast Athletic Conference play with a 3-1 road victory Wednesday at the College of Wooster.
The win improves the Big Red to 3-0 in NCAC play and evens the overall record at 9-9. The loss drops the Fighting Scots to 0-3 in conference games and 9-12 overall.
Denison 3, Wooster 1 (21-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-18)
Sophomore outside
Ayla Dunbar continued her strong play. Dunbar produced a game-high 15 kills to go along with four service aces. Her classmate,
Claire Hamilton, reached double figures with 10 kills. Senior middle
Cailey Johns tacked on eight kills and three service aces.
Junior setter
Alice Kempf racked up 45 more assists to help set up things offensively.
Junior libero
Sadie Habeeb matched the game high with 17 digs.
The Big Red led 16-12 in the opening set but was unable to maintain its lead. Wooster countered with six of the next eight points to even the score at 18-18. The teams again were tied at 21-21 before Wooster closed the set with four-consecutive points.
Denison responded with a strong second set to turn the momentum back in its favor. The Big Red hit at a .417 clip with 17 kills and just two attack errors. That fueled Denison to a 10-4 lead after an ace by first-year
Whitley Metz. Back-to-back kills by sophomore
Maeve Perry eventually made the score 16-9. Denison was able to maintain a comfortable lead for the remainder of the set to even the match at 1-1.
A strong middle part of the third set allowed Denison to take control. Six-straight points allowed the Big Red to build a 19-12 lead. The Big Red were able to take the third by a 25-15 score after four of the final five points.
Four-straight points gave Denison an early lead in the fourth set. Things really opened when the Big Red poured it on with nine-straight points to swell the lead to 16-3. Johns recorded a three service aces during the run. Wooster countered with a run of its own to trim the deficit back into single digits. Denison eventually claimed the set by a 25-18 margin to take the match.
As a team, Denison held advantages in service aces (12-3), kills (54-39) and digs (57-48).
Up Next: Denison is off until Saturday, Oct. 19 when they travel to Baldwin-Wallace University for a non-conference match. The Big Red and the Yellow Jackets will face off at 3 p.m. in Berea.
