Tiffin, Ohio - The Denison women's volleyball team fell on Tuesday night in a non-conference matchup at Heidelberg, suffering a 3-0 defeat. The Big Red fall to 4-11 overall on the season after the loss.
The Big Red built a 4-2 lead in the opening set behind kills from three different attackers, but the Student Princes answered with four straight points to move in front 6-4.
Ayla Dunbar had two kills during the Big Red's next stretch and later served an ace to keep the Big Red within three points, but after getting the score to 11-8, the Student Princes scored six of the next seven points to hold a 17-9 advantage. Heidelberg would go on to close out the set on an 8-4 run, taking a 1-0 lead on the night with their 25-13 win.
Denison would play its closest set of the night in the second, rebounding from the first with 15 total kills in the game. The Student Princes moved ahead 4-2 in the second set, but Denison would claw back as
Gabrielle Wigglesworth recorded a sideout with a kill for the Big Red, sparking a 4-0 run that featured a pair of Dunbar kills. The teams traded the next several swings as the set saw stalemates at points eight, nine, 10, 12 and 13, as
Claire Hamilton and
Emily Monachino kept the offense humming in the set. The game would see four more ties until Denison was able to inch in front 19-17. The Big Red were able to extend the lead to three behind Hamilton and Monachino as they led 22-19, but the hold on the lead was insecure, as Heidelberg made a late rally.
Amelia Kurtz had Denison at set point leading 24-21, but the Student Princes had the final say, as they rallied back with five consecutive points to take a 2-0 lead behind the 26-24 win.
Despite the 2-0 hole, Denison stayed in the fight, as Hamilton and Wigglesworth helped the Big Red build a 6-1 lead in the third set. The Student Princes answered with five straight points to tie the set at 6-6, setting up another back and forth surge that saw the game stay within two points for several rallies. With the score 16-15 in favor of Heidelberg, the Student Princes answered an
Ayla Dunbar kill with three of their own and one block, using the 4-0 run to push the lead to five. Denison rallied late and got within one in the closing stretch, but were unable to reclaim the lead, as Heidelberg closed out the sweep with a 25-22 win in set three.
Hamilton led the Big Red with 12 kills and added one block assist, reaching a career milestone of 1,004 total points. Dunbar finished with eight kills, nine digs, and one service ace. Monachino recorded 13 assists, nine digs, four kills, and one ace as she eclipsed 100 kills for the season, and
Maeve Perry reached 500 career kills in the loss, as she had four to end the day with 502 in her career.
Sarah McShane collected a team-high 13 digs and added three assists.
Up Next: Denison hosts its final tri-match of the season on Saturday, welcoming Ohio Wesleyan in for an NCAC clash, while the day will end with a matchup against Case Western Reserve. The match against Ohio Wesleyan begins at noon, while the Case Western matchup is set for 4:00 p.m.
