Granville, Ohio - After dropping the opening two sets, DePauw battled back to win the third, but host Denison came back in the fourth to win the match 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 17-25, 25-21). The Tigers dropped to 11-10 overall and 2-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while the Big Red improved to 9-13 overall and 1-3 in the NCAC.
The opening set featured seven ties and three lead changes and the Tigers held a 20-19 lead before the Big Red rattled off three straight to start a 6-2 run to close the set.
DePauw got out to a 7-1 lead in the second set before the Big Red started chipping away at it. The Tigers still held a 14-12 lead before Denison took the lead for good with a 5-0 run. DePauw fought off four set points before the Big Red finally won the set.
Denison scored the first point of the third set, but DePauw won the next two and never trailed the rest of the set. The Tigers again took control early in the fourth and held a 17-14 lead before the Big Red started the comeback with five straight points as part of an 11-4 run which put the match away.
Madeline Ozersky paced DePauw with 12 kills, while
Addison Hooker added 10.
Kendall Herrick's 18 assists led the Tigers.
Kerry O'Connor finished with a match-high eight blocks and McWaters, Hooker and
Grace Myers each totaled 14 digs.
Maeve Perry led the Big Red with 15 kills with Alice Kempf assisting 31 times. Kempf, Ayla Dunbar, Amelia Kurtz and Kate Sicklick each had two aces with Perry and Carolina Parkhurst recording three blocks apiece. Sadie Habeeb totaled 17 digs.
DePauw outhit Denison, .207-.156 with the Big Red holding a 50-48 edge in kills. The Big Red led in aces, 11-4 with DePauw holding an 11-6 advantage in blocks.
The Tigers host Kenyon on Saturday at 1 p.m. in an NCAC match.
