Early Blocks Help Wooster Take Set One from Denison

WOOSTER, Ohio – Senior Amelia Mitchell spearheaded a strong blocking game in set one, which enabled The College of Wooster volleyball team to take the opening frame off Denison University in Wednesday's 21-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-18 loss at Timken Gymnasium.

Wooster (9-12, 0-3 North Coast Athletic Conference) blocked five Denison (9-9, 3-0 NCAC) attacks in set one, and Mitchell was part of four of them. Mitchell's lone solo block in the frame came on set point when the senior denied Cailey Johns. A point prior, Mitchell and sophomore Jordan Laraway blocked down Maeve Perry's attack, while junior Izzy Cozzie was Mitchell's teammate on the block when Perry tried to tie the set at 20. Earlier, a Mitchell and sophomore Kora Burill block on Claire Hamilton tied the set at 18. Mitchell tied the frame at 19 with a kill, and that was followed by sophomore Emma Fleck tapping down an overpass to stake the Fighting Scots to a 20-19 lead.

Wooster had just two attack errors in set two but could not slow Denison down. The Big Red finished 17-of-36 attack attempts with just two errors of its own en route to a .417 attack percentage for the frame. Senior Lucy Kinser kept six of the Big Red's 19 non-kill attacks alive. Offensively, Cozzie had three of Wooster's 11 kills in the frame to lead the attack.

Denison pulled away with a 10-1 run in the third set. Wooster grabbed hold of a 10-9 lead on a Denison service error, and it was 11-9 Scots after Hamilton could not finish on attack.

Wooster posted a solid 5-1 stretch in set four, and it was the block again getting the job done for the Scots, specifically Mitchell. Mitchell's eighth block of the match was a solo one on a Maeve Perry attack. Three points prior, first-year Mary-Catherine Werth and Mitchell sent a Hamilton attack plummeting backwards past the 10-foot line.

Kinser ended the night with a co-match-high 17 digs. Mitchell added seven kills to the eight blocks. Cozzie's 10 kills were tops on Wooster's team. Fleck passed out 26 assists to go with six digs and three kills.

Ayla Dunbar was the match leader in kills at 15, and she served up four of the Big Red's 12 aces. Denison libero Sadie Habeeb matched Kinser with 17 digs. Alice Kempf led Denison to a .237 attack percentage with 45 assists.

Next, Wooster takes a break from conference play for a Monday, Oct. 14 match at Pennsylvania State University Shenango (7-13). First serve is set for 7 p.m.