Nash's 19 Kills Lead Way Against Denison

WOOSTER, Ohio – Fighting Scots' senior Hayley Nash posted a double-double with a match-high 19 kills and 10 digs, but Denison University ended up with a three-set victory (25-22, 25-18, 25-20) over The College of Wooster volleyball team on Saturday afternoon at Timken Gymnasium.

Denison improved to 7-9 and 1-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference while Wooster moved its record to 3-10 and 0-2 in the NCAC.

In addition to Nash, fellow senior Sydney Fitzcharles registered a team-high 19 digs while junior Tyara Thompson handed out 31 assists.

First-set action saw neither squad really find quality rhythm on the offensive end as the Big Red connected on .143 of their attacks compared to .087 for the Scots. For Denison though, it found a late stretch to claim a 25-22 opening-set win.

Following a kill by junior Troy Johnson, Denison called timeout trailing 18-16. Out of the break, the visitors scored six unanswered capped off by a Lucy Anderson kill. The Big Red would keep that lead until victory.

A set later, Denison trailed 10-6 before running off a remarkable 13 straight points. The big run started with a solo block by Denison's Cailey Johns and ended with a Scots' error. At that point, it was 19-10 Big Red and they would go on to win 25-19.

In the final stanza, the visitors from Granville hit .500 en route to a 25-20 win. In fact, Denison had just two errors on 28 total attacks. Early on, Denison's Sophie Tight assisted teammate Kelly McCaskey for a kill and tied the set at 6-6. That was a part of a 5-0 run which concluded with a Johns kill.

After that mini spurt, Wooster trailed 10-6 and would get within four points just once the rest of the way. That came at 22-19 when junior Caroline Dillard got a point from the right side.

Wooster's next match comes in a week when it visits DePauw University (7-9, 1-1 NCAC) for a 1 p.m. NCAC contest.