GRANVILLE, Ohio – The Kenyon College volleyball team played Saturday what was, statistically, a very close match against Denison University. The host Big Red, however, used 16 kills from junior Emma Woerner, to record a 25-18, 25-21, 27-25 conference win over the Ladies.

Throughout the three sets, Kenyon chalked up 37 kills and posted a .132 hitting percentage. On the other side of the court, Denison had 38 kills and a .133 hitting percentage. Additionally, Kenyon piled up seven blocks, 35 assists and 63 digs. Denison counted six blocks, 33 assists and 61 digs.

With the team stats nearly equal, it was Woerner who stood out as the difference. She had six kills in the first set, two in the second and eight in the third. She made just four errors and cranked out a personal .364 hitting percentage.

For Kenyon, senior Mackenzie Bruzzio led the way with 10 kills on 34 attempts. She also had 13 digs. Junior Lauren Limbach added eight kills and senior Maleah Miller had seven kills with no errors in 22 attempts. Katie Howard had a team-high 19 digs, while Meghan Cason and Jac Cousineau combined for 28 assists.

Kenyon (3-9, 1-1 NCAC) started out well in the first set, jumping out to a 9-5 advantage. Denison then went on a 9-1 tear that turned things around. During the surge, the Big Red benefitted from three service aces and four Kenyon errors. The Big Red, leading 14-10 at that point, pulled away and secured the set by winning nine of the next 12 points.

Denison (10-5, 1-0 NCAC), winner of seven straight, held or shared the lead throughout the second set. Toward the end, Kenyon pulled within one point, at 22-21, but two more errors and a Big Red kill put Denison up 2-0.

In the third and final set, Kenyon maintained the lead until Denison caught up at 15-15. The Big red then went on a 7-2 run to open up a 22-17 lead. Kenyon responded with its own 7-2 run and tied things up at 24-24. D.J. Taylor, Haley Witschey, Limbach and Miller delivered kills in that late Ladies' run.

Bruzzio then tacked on another Kenyon kill, putting the Ladies up 25-24, but Denison rattled off the next three points to complete the three-set sweep.