Gabrielle Basinski

Senior Gabrielle Basinski surpassed 400 digs for the fourth consecutive season, while classmate Ashley Plassard pulled within a block of climbing into The College of Wooster volleyball team's career top-10 list during the Fighting Scots' 25-13, 25-17, 25-13 loss against Denison University at Livingston Gymnasium in Granville, Ohio on Wednesday evening.

The match, which marked the finale of North Coast Athletic Conference play, saw Denison (10-14, 3-5 NCAC) secure the sixth seed for next week's conference tournament hosted by Wittenberg University. Wooster (13-11, 2-6 NCAC) will take on Denison at Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield, Ohio in the first round of the NCAC Tournament on Friday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m. with the winner advancing to play third-seeded Hiram College at 7 p.m.

Denison rolled behind Alex Tubbs' offense and Marija Pavlick's defense in the first set with Tubbs smashing down six kills on nine swings and Pavlick tallying 11 of the Big Red's 27 digs. Wooster's best stretch came midway through the set when senior Mayia Karagianni's kill was followed by a senior Jordan Murray's service ace, and a kill by junior Anna Medema, with the third point pulling the Scots within 15-10.

Senior Ashley Plassard pulled Wooster on top with a kill that made it 11-10 in the second set, but Denison turned to Tubbs for a quick sideout, and the Big Red's junior middle sparked a 6-0 run that bumped the host's lead out to 16-11. Wooster, which logged three of its four blocks in the frame, trimmed Denison's lead to 17-14 when sophomore Meghan Botsch and Plassard teamed up to stuff Denison's Emma Woerner.

Back-to-back kills by Plassard tied the third set at eight, and Wooster led briefly at 9-8 thanks to a bad set by Denison. Later, Plassard's fourth kill of the frame had Wooster within two at 12-10, but Denison rattled off a 5-0 run to open up a seven-point advantage.

Plassard led Wooster on the night with eight kills, and she had a hand in all four of the Scots' blocks. Basinski tallied 11 digs.

Woerner tallied a match-high 13 kills, while Tubbs backed that up with 10. Pavlick's 18 digs marked the match-high, and she was one of three Denison student-athletes in double figures.

Wooster closes out the regular season with a 1 p.m. home tilt against Case Western Reserve University (17-11) on Saturday, Oct. 27.