MEADVILLE, Pa. – Slowly getting back to health, the Kenyon College Ladies volleyball team ended a three-game slide by registering a 25-13, 25-21, 25-16 win at Allegheny College on Saturday afternoon. With four matches still to play this season, the win improved Kenyon's record to 15-9, matching the final win total from one season ago.

The Ladies are still without two starters, but they did get back junior Jensen Shurbert, who returned to her starting setter's role and dished out 32 assists. She complemented that total with four kills and ten digs to provide a spark for the Ladies as they played on the road.

It was a couple of freshmen, however, that led the Kenyon attack. Mackenzie Bruzzio rang up a match-high 13 kills, while Haley Witschey added another eight kills. That tandem took the Kenyon team from hitting a season-low .053 last time out to a .324 against Allegheny. Bruzzio, who also tallied four aces and a team-high 15 digs, had just two errors in 27 attack attempts, while Witschey had just one error in 18 attempts.

Sophomore Alexi Donnelly kept the youth movement going with ten kills and 14 digs. Freshman Maleah Miller had seven kills, an ace and a block, while junior libero Rachael Thorson contributed 13 digs and five assists.

Kenyon took early leads in the first set and never looked back. Posting advantages of 6-1 and 11-3 was all the Ladies needed to do to roll to 12-point victory.

Allegheny took its first lead of the day (13-12) by scoring six straight points in the middle of the second set. Three of those points came on Kenyon errors, but the Ladies bounced back with kills from Donnelly and Grace Riley.

The teams went back-and-forth until they were tied at 21-21. Riley then belted another kill and Shurbert served out the match with the help of an Allegheny error, an ace and Bruzzio kill that capped off the set.

The Gators (8-13) didn't go away quietly. They took leads of 3-1 and 5-2 in the third set. Kenyon scored the next four points, but Allegheny answered with the next five to construct a 9-7 lead. Following that brief run, Kenyon scored eight of the next nine points to jump out to a 15-10 lead. Miller had two kills in that span, while Donnelly, Shurbert, Riley and Bruzzio each added one.

Kenyon smelled the finish line and put the Gators away by scoring the final five points of the set. During that final stretch, Miller tacked on another kill, Bruzzio chalked up a block, Donnelly served up an ace and the Gators made two attack errors.

Kenyon is now 4-3 in North Coast Athletic Conference action and will next play The College of Wooster on Wednesday. That match, which will get underway at 7 p.m., marks the last time the Ladies will be at home this season.