Women's Volleyball | 8/29/2025 10:04:00 PM
Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Alliance, Ohio: The Denison Big Red volleyball team kicked off their season at the Mount Union Invitational, hosted by the University of Mount Union. The Big Red started with a bang, sweeping Alfred University in straight sets. Immediately after, Denison took down the hosting school, Mount Union, in straight sets, completing the perfect day. The Big Red move to 2-0 on the year and will continue action in Alliance tomorrow morning.
Up Next: The Big Red will take on Clarkson University Saturday, August 30th, at noon to round out the Mount Union Invitational
Match 1(Denison 3, Alfred 0) (25-12, 25-17, 25-20)
The Big Red kicked off its season with its largest margin of victory in set one. Leading by 12 points, Alfred gave one final push but was silenced by a pair of aces from Sadie Habeeb, a kill from Kate Sicklick, and the match point from Ayla Dunbar.
Heading into match two, Denison carried all the momentum from match one. Claire Hamilton, Maeve Perry, and Alice Kempf hung 3 quick points on the board. The Saxons clawed their way back midway through the set, but the Big Red were able to stand strong. Needing three points to win, Kate Sicklick would go on to close the game serving, recording an ace to take the 2-0 lead.
The third and final set would be the closest battle between the two teams. Alfred jumped out to their only lead of the day early on and would go on to lead Denison 12-7. The Big Red were able to dial it back in and throw nine straight points on the board. Denison would claim their third set in thrilling fashion, completing their first sweep of the season.
Sadie Habeeb led the team with five aces and 17 digs. Claire Hamilton and Ayla Dunbar led the squad in percentage, while Alice Kempf led both teams with 29 assists.
Match 2(Denison 3, Mount Union 0) (25-19, 25-15, 25-21)
Following a clean sweep to record their first win of the year, Emily Monachino recorded a kill off an assist from Alice Kempf to take a 1-0 lead in the first set. Following a back and forth fight, the Purple Raiders of Mount Union led 10-6. The Big Red rattled off five points in a row, staggered, and recorded four more unanswered. Facing set point, the Purple Raiders were able to grab one last point before Claire Hamilton recorded the final point to take the first set.
The second set proved to be a Big Red showcase. The Purple Raiders jumped to an early lead, fighting back after the loss in the first set. The Big Red fell down behind 6-9 but outscored their opponent 21-6 to finalize the second set. Alice Kempf recorded the final kill to take the 2-0 lead heading into the third set.
The final set of the day followed suit to sets one and two. Mount Union surged early, only to be overtaken by the pure power from Denison. After knotting things up at 11 all, the Big Red stormed to secure their second straight sweep, capitalized by Ayla Dunbar in the closing moments.
In the match, Claire Hamilton and Emily Monachino led the way. Hamilton recorded a .500 hit percentage and a .577 kill percentage while Monachino was close behind with .455 and .545 respectively. The duo led both teams in both categories. Alice Kempf led both teams with 40 assists on the night.
