Holland, Mich. - The Denison volleyball team faced tough sledding on Friday, falling in four sets against a touted Albion team. The Big Red won the second set in the match, but were unsuccessful in sets three and four to extend the match, as the 3-1 loss drops the team's record to 2-3 on the year.
Albion played with a lead throughout the first set, using a 3-0 run to take a strong start in the match's opening moments. Denison would rally and tie the set early at five thanks to a pair of Albion errors, but the Brits would answer with an 8-1 run, taking a commanding 13-6 lead. Another big run dropped the Big Red into a double-digit deficit, as Albion would run away with the first set 25-12.
Denison responded in the second set, with
Kate Sicklick and
Emily Monachino blocking the opening rally to light a new fire in the team.
Zoe Johnson would continue the strong start with a kill, and ensuing swings from
Carolina Parkhurst and
Kate Sicklick sparked a surge of eight Denison points after the set reached a 5-5 draw. The attacks helped create an 8-2 run, with Denison continuing to push in front 15-8. The Big Red attack kept a strong approach, expanding an eventual 18-13 lead to double figures with a 7-1 run that featured a trio of points from Parkhurst. The middle hitter ended the set with a kill to take the game 25-14, leveling the match 1-1.
Despite the second set win, Denison was unable to keep its momentum going into the third, surrendering the first four points of the set and eventually falling behind 8-1. A swing of three kills that featured
Ayla Dunbar and
Kate Sicklick kills brought Denison back into the mix, however, the road team was unable to cut the lead any closer than five points, as Albion would eventually close out the 25-19 victory.
Trailing 2-1, Denison showed fight early, but again could not maintain its poise in the late runnings of the set. A Dunbar kill and service from
Amelia Kurtz helped the Big Red rally to tie the set at 11 points, but after the 11-all deadlock, the Brits found a rhythm, scoring five consecutive points to pull in front 16-11. Denison would chip back within three, but they could not keep the offense going to come back and tie, as Albion's 7-1 run helped them close the match with a 25-16 win, taking the match in four sets.
Offensively, Denison hit .130 in the match, suffering from eight service errors and eight reception errors.
Carolina Parkhurst was one of the offensive bright spots in the win, logging a team-high nine kills on the day.
Maeve Perry hit .375 in the loss with seven kills, and
Zoe Johnson finished the day with eight kills on 28 attacks.
Sarah McShane logged her fifth consecutive match with double-digit digs, recording a team-high 20, and
Emily Monachino posted her fifth double-double of the year, posting 19 assists and 10 digs.
Up Next: Denison will end the week on Saturday with two more matches in Michigan, facing two top-25 opponents, Hope College and Calvin University. Match one of the day against Hope is at 10:30 a.m.
