GREENCASTLE, Ind. (Sept. 28) – The Denison University volleyball team opened North Coast Athletic Conference play in dramatic fashion Saturday afternoon when they faced off with defending conference champion DePauw University. After dropping the first two sets, the Big Red rallied for a reverse sweep victory, stunning the Tigers on their home floor. 
 
Sophomore outside hitter Claire Hamilton turned in another mammoth performance in the victory. Hamilton finished with a career-high 29 kills in the five-set victory. This marks the fourth time this season Hamilton has posted 20 or more kills in a match. The 29 kills are tied for the third most by a Division III player this season. 
 
Sophomore setter Alice Kempf finished with 65 assists and 17 digs. The 65 assists rank as the second most by in D-III this fall. Kempf previously posted 64 assists in a five-set loss to John Carroll a week ago. 
 
Sophomore right side Maeve Perry turned in a career-high 13 kills. Senior middle Cailey Johns finished with 12 kills while sophomore outside Ayla Dunbar added 10 kills in a well-rounded offensive attack. 
 
Junior libero Sadie Habeeb notched 23 digs while freshman defensive specialist Whitley Metz added 16 digs. 
 
DePauw opened with a 25-19 victory in the opening set and collected the final three points of the second set for a 27-25 win to take a 2-0 lead into the third. 
 
Denison escaped with narrow wins in the third and fourth sets, respectively. The Big Red won by a 25-23 margin in the third before taking the fourth set by a 25-22 score. 
 
The Big Red saved its best work for the fifth set. Denison posted 13 kills and just one attack error in the final frame. The two teams traded points for the early part of the decisive set before Denison made a bit of a run to take the lead for good. 
 
Three-straight points, including a pair of kills by Johns, made it 8-6 in favor of the Big Red. Denison maintained a lead the rest of the way. Perry had the final three kills to secure the 15-12 victory to take the match.
 
Denison compiled a more than respectable .283 hitting percentage in the victory. The Big Red racked up 75 kills to DePauw's 61 kills.
 
The Big Red improve to 7-8 overall after winning its conference opener. DePauw drops to 10-5 overall in 2024. 
 
Denison steps out of conference for a road match at Otterbein University on Tuesday, Oct. 1. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in Westerville.