GAMBIER, Ohio – The Kenyon College Ladies volleyball team welcomed rival Denison University to Tomsich Arena with a 26-24 opening-set victory over the Big Red. The momentum did not hold up for the Ladies, though, and Denison went on to log a 24-26, 25-15, 25-12, 25-21 North Coast Athletic Conference triumph.

The loss dropped Kenyon to 5-22 overall and 0-7 in NCAC play. Denison used the win to even up its records at 12-12 overall and 4-4 in NCAC action.

The Ladies stumbled out of the gate, falling behind 6-0, but an Amber Kraus kill followed later by a block from Lauren Kerr pulled the Kenyon women to within three points at 9-6. The Ladies kept pouring it on in the first set, caught Denison at 16-16, and then zoomed ahead to a 24-20 advantage.

A few errors let Denison creep back into the set, but a Katie Goulder kill gave the Ladies a 25-24 lead. The Big Red returned the favor on the error as an attack attempt went just wide of the sideline and gave Kenyon the win. Kraus, one of three Ladies celebrating Senior Day at Tomsich Arena, came up with five of Kenyon's 13 kills in that first set.

Kraus wound up with seven kills on the day. That total tied Grace Riley's output for the team lead. Kerr added six kills and Goulder threw down five. Both Kerr and Kraus also had four block assists each, and senior Kaitlyn Power tallied a team high in blocks with one solo and five assists.

In set two, the Ladies stayed with Denison until the score reached 7-7. At that point, Denison took control of the set and eventually the match. The Big Red jumped ahead 13-8 and 15-9 before settling on a ten-point margin of victory. Kenyon really didn't threaten again until the fourth set. The Ladies, trailing by as many as five points, worked their way back to a 13-13 tie. Denison then scored four of the next five points to move ahead for good.

While Power and Kraus put up decent attacking and blocking statistics, fellow senior Hannah Shank logged 16 assists and 10 digs. Shank's assist total gave her 398 for the season and 2,617 for her career. She currently ranks third all-time in Kenyon history and is just 20 assists shy of tying Sarah Brieschke '07 for the second-place spot in the Kenyon record book.  

The Ladies have three more matches left in the season, including a home match against Ohio Wesleyan University at 7 p.m. Wednesday.