SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – For the second time this season, the Kenyon Ladies (13-13) volleyball team hung tough for a while but eventually fell to DePauw University (18-10) in a North Coast Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament quarterfinal match at Pam Evans Smith Arena on the campus of Wittenberg University.
 
The Tigers won by scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-11.
 
Delaney Swanson had nine kills to lead the Ladies and also collected 13 digs. Libero Rachael Thorson also added 13 digs while Jensen Shurbert handed out a team-high 20 assists. Tierney McClure chipped in with five kills and nine digs and Lauren Kerr added six kills and three block assists. As a team, the Ladies connected on just .068 of their attacks, their lowest mark since they played Wittenberg on Oct. 22.  
 
First-set action was competitive throughout but a small run by DePauw with the score tied at 16 helped the third-seeded team get ahead of the Ladies.
 
After Swanson's kill tied the set at 16, DPU reeled off a 5-0 run to take control. Elizabeth Wilson started the stretch with a kill and Suzanne Peters followed with a pair of kills to move the score to 19-16. Kenyon called timeout after that, but that didn't slow down the Tigers as they came out of the break and notched two more points on a service ace and a Ladies attack error.  Kenyon pulled to within two (22-20) after another Swanson kill, but they were unable to get closer as DePauw won 25-21.
 
In the second set, the Ladies got off to a good start and held a 9-3 advantage after Schuyler Stupica delivered a kill. Kenyon maintained that lead until late when DePauw rallied for victory.
 
Victoria Leggett's ace moved the Ladies in front 21-17 but the Tigers followed with a 4-0 run to tie the set. The two teams traded a pair of points after that (22-22) before DPU pulled away. Keely McGrath's kill moved the Tigers up one (23-22) and the final two points of the set came on a Haley Bitzer kill and Kenyon error.
 
With a 2-0 lead in the match, DePauw shut the door in the third. Shurbert's kill brought the tally to 8-6 DePauw early, but the Tigers followed with a 12-1 run capped off by a Faith Rowles kill to go up 20-7. DPU took the final set by a 25-11 count.
 
The defeat moves Kenyon into tomorrow morning's Consolation Semifinal match where they'll take on either two-seeded Ohio Wesleyan or seventh-seeded Oberlin at 10:00 a.m.