GRANVILLE, Ohio – Following a North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament appearance last fall, the Denison University volleyball team looks to work itself up the conference standings in a highly competitive NCAC. The Big Red opens the 2024 season on Aug. 30 at the Mount Union Invitational.
2023 Season Review: Last season, a young Denison squad finished 10-18 overall and with a 3-4 mark in conference play. The Big Red qualified for the six-team NCAC Tournament for a fourth-straight season.
"The 2023 season was a year of growth and learning for our team," said head coach
Carter Cassell. "It was many of our players' first collegiate season or their first year in an expanded, starting role. I think we grew more comfortable playing next to each other and really strengthened our relationships. We had many young players step up in key roles, which will provide them valuable experience moving forward.
Denison opened the season with three-straight wins at the Big Red Invitational. Denison picked up wins over Wilmington (3-2), W&J (3-0) and Franklin (3-1). After dropping a non-conference match to Muskingum, the Big Red faced a challenging weekend at the NCAC/MIAA Crossover. Denison suffered losses to a pair of top five opponents in Hope and Calvin.
The Big Red split its next four matches, as they picked up non-conference wins over Earlham and Birmingham-Southern. The team's lone returning senior for 2024,
Cailey Johns finished with a season-high 14 kills in the win over Birmingham-Southern. Denison put together consecutive wins over Capital (3-1), Hiram (3-2) and Wooster (3-0). The winning streak ended the following weekend when Denison put together a 1-2 record at the Brick City Invitational. The Big Red rolled to a sweep over host RIT behind a 13-kill effort from
Claire Hamilton at the event.
Denison dropped five of the final six matches during the 2023 season. That lone win came against NCAC rival Kenyon.
Alice Kempf contributed 42 assists and three service aces in a win that clinched a spot in the NCAC Tournament for Denison.
The Big Red reached the NCAC Quarterfinals before falling in straight sets to Wittenberg University.
Sadie Habeeb posted a team-high 19 digs and three service aces.
The NCAC Tournament appearance was the fourth-straight for Denison dating back to 2019.
Four players earned All-NCAC honors last season. Hamilton, Johns and Kempf all are expected to make similar contributions during the 2024 campaign.
2024 NCAC Women's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll:
Rank School (1st Place Votes) Points
1 DePauw (5) 60
2 Ohio Wesleyan (1) 55
3 Wittenberg (2) 53
4 Denison 39
5 Oberlin 28
6 Hiram 27
T7 Kenyon 13
T7 Wooster 13
Position By Position Outlook:
Denison returns 11 players from last year's roster including seven sophomores, three juniors and one senior. The group includes three who appeared in all 28 matches and six who appeared in 25 or more contests. Three All-NCAC selections return to the 2024 roster.
"It is certainly beneficial to return a big core of our starting lineup, including some individuals that made a significant impact for us," Cassell said. "I think our All-NCAC performers from last season will be motivated to continue to grow and improve. We have a really competitive roster and valuable depth for different positions. Our staff is excited to see the team come together and build off of our spring season."
Middle Hitter – Cailey Johns (St. Charles, Ill. / St. Charles North), the team's lone senior, leads the way among returners in the middle. Johns earned All-NCAC Third Team honors a season ago. Johns started in each of her 27 matches, played in 99 sets, and finished third on the team with 164 kills (1.66 K/S) while hitting .231 percent and adding 55 blocks (0.56 B/S) and 29 service aces, all of which were career-highs. She reached double-digit kills five times, including a career-high 14 kills against Birmingham-Southern.
"While we are definitely still young this season. We are one more year experienced," Cassell said. "Our sophomores make up the bulk of our team and for them to have a year of experience and knowing what it is like to navigate a collegiate season is so important. We have different people step up to lead in various ways and every player is responsible for the culture of our team.
Cailey Johns will be a fantastic role model for our incoming players and our junior class demonstrated tremendous leadership this past spring semester."
Junior transfer
Katy McCaffrey (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Coffman) joins the mix after competing last year at Indiana University of Indianapolis. McCaffrey is no stranger to NCAC Volleyball, as she spent her first year of collegiate volleyball at Kenyon. While with Kenyon, McCaffrey appeared in 21 matches (18 starts). She totaled 120 kills and 39 total blocks with the Owls in 2022.
Kate Sicklick (Tiburon, Calif./Redwood) joins the group in the middle for her first year at Denison.
Setter –
Alice Kempf (Louisville, Ky. / Sacred Heart Academy) put together a strong season to earn Third Team All-NCAC. Kempf started in 23 of 28 matches at setter and in 104 sets, finished the year with 721 assists (6.93 A/S), 277 digs (2.66 D/S), 57 kills on .218 percent hitting, a team-high 42 service aces, and 18 blocks, all of which were career-highs. She dished out 30 or more assists 11 times and had a career-high 51 assists in Denison's 3-2 season-opening win over Wilmington College on September 1. She posted 12 double-doubles on the year, was second on the team in digs. Kempf ranked third in the NCAC in both total assists and assists per set, was tied for third in total aces, and was 10th in total digs.
Katelyn Chiu (Naperville, Ill./Nequa Valley) returns for her second year with the program. Chiu appeared in 12 matches and tallied 194 assists last season.
Outside Hitter – Claire Hamilton (Lower Merion, Pa./Lower Merion) leads the way in returners on the outside. Hamilton earned All-NCAC Second Team honors in her first year. Hamilton started in eight of her 25 matches played as a freshman and finished with a team-high 216 kills (2.54 K/S) while adding 74 digs (0.87 D/S) across 85 sets. She recorded 11 or more kills 11 times during the season, which included seven-straight matches. She posted a season-high 17 kills while hitting a season-best .371 percent in a 3-2 win at Hiram College on Sept. 30.
Hamilton's classmates,
Ayla Dunbar (Ann Arbor, Mich./Skyline) and
Reagan Sass (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Marian), also return for their sophomore seasons. Dunbar appeared in all 28 matches last season as a first year when she ranked third on the team with 190 digs and added 83 kills to go along with 26 service aces. Sass totaled 60 kills and 16 total blocks in 10 matches.
A pair of newcomers,
Bella Bergeron (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla./The Bolles School) and
Devon Moore (Golden, Colo./Mullen), also join the mix on the outside.
Right Side – Maeve Perry (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School) leads the group of returners on the right side. Perry posted 57 kills and 16 blocks in 14 matches played.
Maxon Perkins (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart-Griffin) and
Lauren Brown (Vienna, Va./James Madison) both return to the position. Perkins and Brown appeared in seven and five matches last fall, respectively.
Libero/Defensive Specialist –
Sadie Habeeb (Independence, Ohio/Independence) took the reins of the position last year following the graduation of current assistant coach Jenna Corrao. Habeeb reached double-digit digs in all but five matches. Habeeb racked up a team-best 412 digs. The rising sophomore posted a season-high 37 digs in a five-set win over Albion on Sept. 9.
In her first collegiate season,
Ryan Kotalik (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford Sutherland) tallied 159 digs and 41 service aces, a total which ranked second on the team. Newcomers
Whitley Metz (Hamilton, Ohio/Ross) and Bergeron could also see time at the position.
Newcomers: Denison welcomes five newcomers to the 2024 roster. The group includes a junior transfer and four first-year student-athletes.
"We are excited for our newcomers to join us. We always want our incoming group to be authentic to themselves and curious learners," Cassell said. "This particular group has the ability to enhance the competitiveness in our gym and add value to our program culture."
# Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown / High School
4
Bella Bergeron OH/DS 5-8 Fr. Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. / The Bolles School
7
Katy McCaffrey MH 5-11 Jr. Dublin, Ohio / Dublin Coffman
8
Kate Sicklick MH 5-11 Fr. Tiburon, Calif. / Redwood
16
Devon Moore OH 5-10 Fr. Golden, Colo. / Mullen
22
Whitley Metz DS 5-7 Fr. Hamilton, Ohio / Ross
The Coaching Staff: Carter Cassell returns for his eighth season as Denison University's Head Volleyball Coach in 2024. In his six full seasons with the Big Red, Denison has won 86 matches and has advanced to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament in all six seasons. The Big Red has put together a strong stretch in recent years. Cassell led Denison to a second-place regular season finish in 2022 and had a pair of student-athletes win NCAC yearly awards. That followed up a historic 2021 season in which Denison earned its first-ever NCAC Championship with a perfect 8-0 record in conference play.
Former Denison standout libero Jenna Corrao joined the coaching staff this past spring. Corrao was a defensive specialist at Denison from 2019-2022, earning North Coast Athletic Conference Libero of the Year honors as a senior. Corrao was a two-time All-NCAC honoree. As a senior, Corrao paced the NCAC in both total digs (491) and digs per set (4.81) while ranking second with 49 service aces. The 2023 graduate was accomplished off the court as well, earning several academic honors during her time with the Big Red.
Lindsey Miracle also serves as an assistant coach. A 2016 graduate of Hiram, Miracle left as the only player to be selected as an AVCA All-American in consecutive seasons. This marks Miracle's ninth year on staff.
Looking At The Schedule: The 2024 schedule commences with the Mount Union Invitational in Alliance on Aug 30-31. The Big Red will face Carnegie Mellon, the host Purple Raiders and the University of Rochester. The following weekend, Denison will face a challenging slate at the MIAA/NCAC Crossover. The Big Red will face Hope, Albion and Calvin in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Sept. 6-7.
Denison will open the home schedule on Sept. 11 when it faces Muskingum at Livingston Gymnasium.
The Big Red will take on Penn State Behrend, Bluffton and Hilbert at the Sommer Center Spiketacular hosted by Bluffton on Sept. 13-14. Denison will head to Capital on Sept. 18 for a non-conference match in Columbus.
The Big Red returns home to host a tri-match with John Carroll and Rose-Hulman on Sept. 21. A non-conference match with Marietta at home follows on Sept. 25.
DU starts conference play at DePauw on Sept. 28 before they head to Westerville, Ohio to face Otterbein on Oct. 1. Denison travels to Wooster for an NCAC match on Oct. 9 before they have a hiatus in their schedule.
The Big Red heads to Berea, Ohio for a non-conference match versus Baldwin Wallace on Oct. 19. Denison faces Oberlin and Ohio Wesleyan in back-to-back home matches on Oct. 23 and Oct. 26.
Denison closes the regular season with four-straight matches away from home. The Big Red faces Kenyon (Oct. 29) and Wittenberg (Nov. 2) to close out conference play. Denison wraps up the regular season versus Heidelberg and Ohio Northern on Nov. 8.
The top six teams qualify for the NCAC Tournament, which is scheduled to be held Nov. 12-15-16.
The winner determines the NCAC's automatic qualifier for the 2024 NCAA Tournament Championship.
"We play a pretty strong non-conference schedule on a yearly basis. That is certainly intentional and designed to prepare us for NCAC play," Cassell said. "As competitors, we want to play some of the best teams in the country. Good teams allow you to learn about yourself. I think our conference is the deepest it has been since I can remember, so we need to experience playing some of the top teams in our region before NCAC play hits."
