GRANVILLE, Ohio (Nov. 15) –
Ayla Dunbar delivered a career-high 21 kills and added 13 digs to help lead the top-seeded Denison University Big Red to a 3-1 victory over fourth-seeded Wittenberg University in front of a lively home crowd in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament semifinals at Livingston Gymnasium.
This will mark Denison's fourth appearance in the NCAC title match since 2001 with the last appearance coming in 2022. The win helps the Big Red avenge its only loss during the NCAC regular season. Wittenberg, three-time reigning tournament champions, was seeking its 28th tournament title before Friday's loss. The Tigers end the season at 17-10 overall.
First Set – Wittenberg 25, Denison 18
Fueled by a pair of service aces by
Ryan Kotalik, the Big Red picked up the match's first three points. Wittenberg responded with four of the next five points to even the score at 4-4. Back-to-back kills by Dunbar pushed the Big Red back in front at 6-4. The Tigers responded with three of the next four points to tie the score at 7-7.
Denison used consecutive kills by
Claire Hamilton to go up by a 9-7 margin. However, the Tigers countered with six of the next seven points to surge into a 13-10 advantage. The Big Red used back-to-back kills by Hamilton and Dunbar to trim the Wittenberg lead to one, the Tigers pushed their lead to as many as three points on three such occasions.
Wittenberg tallied two additional points to stretch the lead to 20-16 and force Denison to use its second timeout. The timeout did little to change the momentum as the Tigers tacked on three more points to take a commanding 23-16 advantage. A Wittenberg service error ended the run but the visitors took the opening set by a 25-18 margin.
Second Set – Denison 25, Wittenberg 23
The Big Red overcame a deficit and eventually withstood a late rally by the Tigers to take the second by a 25-23 score.
Behind a kill by Dunbar and an ace by
Sadie Habeeb, the Big Red opened with a brief lead once again in the second set. Wittenberg was quick to respond to take control. Following a kill by Hamilton which cut the deficit to a single point at 7-6, Wittenberg came back with five of the next six points. A service ace by Piper Ricketts gave Wittenberg a 12-7 lead to force a Denison timeout.
Denison battled back to within two points later in the set. A kill by Dunbar and consecutive kills by Hamilton brought the deficit to 15-13.
Later in the set, Hamilton registered back-to-back kills and
Maeve Perry to bring Denison within a point at 18-17 to force a Wittenberg timeout. Consecutive attack errors by the Tigers eventually allowed Denison to even the score at 21 all. Denison continued its run with three more points, including back-to-back kills by Dunbar and a block by
Cailey Johns. Denison held a pair of set points, but Wittenberg countered with back-to-back kills to close within one at 24-23 to force a Denison timeout. Dunbar finished things off for Denison to even things up heading to a third set.
Third Set – Denison 25, Wittenberg 17
Denison used the momentum from the second set to carry over into the third set. An ace by
Bella Bergeron and a kill by Dunbar pushed Denison out to a 7-4 advantage.
The Big Red continued to hold a lead for the next several points before pushing the lead to 14-11 after a kill by Perry and an attack error by Wittenberg.
Out of a timeout, the Tigers tried to punch back but the Big Red responded by getting its blocking game going. An assisted block by
Alice Kempf and Johns, followed by a solo block by Johns, strengthened the Denison lead to 20-13.
Wittenberg tried to cut into the deficit late, but Denison was able to power through to post a decided 25-17 advantage.
Fourth Set – Denison 25, Wittenberg 23
DU ripped off the first four points of the fourth set. A pair of aces by Habeeb fueled the fast start in the set. Wittenberg used a quick timeout to reset and responded with five of the next six points to trim the deficit to 6-5.
The two teams continued to exchanged points for a good chunk of the set until Denison was able to gain some separation as the lead reached four points. Back-to-back kills by Kempf and Hamilton helped move the lead to 17-13. Following three-straight points by Wittenberg, the Big Red used a 7-2 run to gain match point. Kills by Dunbar and Perry followed by service aces by Habeeb made it 24-18 in the favor of the Big Red.
Facing match point, Wittenberg would not go quietly, as the visitors ripped off five-straight points to trim the deficit to 24-23. Perry punctuated the victory with a kill down the line.
By The Numbers
- Dunbar paced the Big Red with a match-high 21 kills.
- Hamilton reached double figures with 15 kills.
- Johns, the team's lone senior, helped aid the efforts with nine kills and six total blocks.
- Perry chipped in eight kills.
- Kempf finished with 45 assists and 12 digs.
- Habeeb finished with a season-high five aces. Habeeb was also the defensive leader with 18 digs.
Up Next: Denison will face second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan in Saturday's title match. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. inside Livingston Gymnasium. Denison will be seeking its first-ever NCAC Tournament title. OWU will look for its third tournament title. The Battling Bishops haven't won a tournament title since 1996.
