GAMBIER, Ohio – DePauw University's Morgan Stearley amassed a game-high 18 kills and added 11 digs to lead the Tigers (13-8, 4-1 NCAC) to a three-set victory against Kenyon College on Thursday night in North Coast Athletic Conference action.
 
Haley Witschey led the Ladies with 10 kills while Maya Sapsford and Jac Cousineau each dished out at last 13 assists. Defensively, Katie Howard was one off the match-high with 13 digs.
 
The Tigers were on fire right from the start. In the first set, DePauw had an attack percentage of .600 with 15 kills on 25 errorless attempts. Leading 9-7, the visitors went on an 11-3 run to take command. Liv Hartman registered a pair of kills while the Ladies committed four attack errors. Kenyon struggled offensively in the opening stanza with eight errors on 25 attempts (.000).
 
In the second, a late surge from DePauw led to a 25-21 victory. Competition was tight early as a Lauren Limbach kill knotted things up at 5-5. Later, down 16-10, Kenyon hit a stretch which included five errors from the Tigers to pull the scoreboard to 17-16. That 16th point came from Witschey. After that, though, DePauw scored the next four points and Kenyon never threatened again.
 
Third-set action turned out to be a treat.
 
Maleah Miller's kill had the Ladies up 5-0 early. Several sequences later, Elyse Davidson pushed the Kenyon advantage to 10-4. Cousineau added a service ace in the middle of the set (15-12), before DePauw fought back.
 
Stearley and Sera Little each had a pair of kills during a 6-1 run that gave the Tigers an 18-16 lead. Kenyon went back in front, 20-18, on a Miller ace and later had set point, 25-24, but a Hartman kill tied things up again. Just a few moments later, Limbach's kill had the tally at 28-all. DePauw, though, followed with a Stearley kill and ace by Jenna Purichia to secure the match.
 
Kenyon (5-15, 2-2 NCAC) will try to get back in the win column on Saturday when it visits Hiram College for a 1 p.m. NCAC contest.