SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Kenyon College Ladies volleyball team is set to make its first appearance in the North Coast Athletic Conference tournament since the 2013 season. The Ladies, the tournament's No. 6 seed, are pitted against No. 3-seeded DePauw University in the first round of the tournament, which starts at 4 p.m. Friday.

All tournament matches are being hosted by Wittenberg University, the conference's regular-season champion with a 21-2 record.

Kenyon enters tournament play with a 13-12 overall record and is on the cusp of recording the program's first winning season since 1990. DePauw marches into the postseason with a 17-10 record, with one of those wins being a 28-26, 27-29, 26-24, 25-18 nail-biter at Kenyon on October 17.

In that regular-season match, Kenyon sophomore Tierney McClure racked up 18 kills and 20 digs to lead the Ladies in their quest for an upset. DePauw used a more balanced attacked with four players logging 10 or more kills. Suzanne Peters and Elisabeth Wilson were tops with 13 kills apiece.

Kenyon is 4-11 all-time against DePauw since the two squads first met in the 1986 season.

The Ladies are a young team that has shown vast improvements throughout the season. Freshman Delaney Swanson has a team-best 294 kills, while McClure follows up with 187. Swanson also leads the team in aces (33) and digs (288). Sophomores Jensen Shurbert and Lauren Kerr have also made significant contributions. Shurbert has dished out 756 assists, while Kerr has logged 81 blocks. Additional help comes from freshman Schuyler Stupica and sophomore Rachael Thorson. Stupica has 149 kills and 49 blocks to her credit. Thorson, Kenyon's libero, has 261 digs and 70 assists.

The Ladies enter their match against DePauw as winners in seven of their last ten contests.

DePauw is 5-5 in its last ten matches, which includes the regular-season win against Kenyon. The Tigers' attack is paced by Lauren Falotico, who has amassed 321 kills. Peters and Wilson have 288 and 261 kills, respectively. Wilson also leads the team with 103 blocks, while Keely McGrath has a team-best 566 digs.

Throughout the season, DePauw averaged 12.5 kills per game and Kenyon averaged 11.8. Kenyon's attack percentage is at .197, while DePauw is at .181. With similar numbers, the Ladies and Tigers might just be in for another close contest.

The winner of Friday's match will move on to play either No. 2-seeded Ohio Wesleyan University or No. 7-seeded Oberlin College in a Saturday semifinal match schedule for noon. The loser of Friday's match will slip into the consolation bracket and will need to win two more matches to obtain a fifth-place tournament finish.

The tournament's championship match will be held Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Wittenberg will provide live stats of Kenyon's match with DePauw.