Milhon blocks eight, but Big Red win in three

Box Score GAMBIER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College volleyball team put up a fight Wednesday night, but the first-place Denison University Big Red was able to dodge some punches and walk away from Tomsich Arena with a 3-0 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victory.

The Big Red cruised to a 25-17 win in the second set of the match, but had to battle through close first and third sets that ended 25-21 and 25-22, respectively. The win improved Denison's record to 14-5 overall and kept the Big Red atop the NCAC standings with a 5-0 mark. On the other side of the court, Kenyon slipped to 2-13 overall and 0-4 within conference play.

Junior Paige Milhon had a great game at the net for Kenyon. She produced four kills, but even more impressive were her eight blocks. That total ranks second best in Kenyon program history for a match that lasted three sets. Seven of her blocks were assisted, while one went down as a solo. That output increased her season total to 59 blocks, which ranks top-ten among all players in the conference. Additionally, her average of 1.26 blocks per set ranks first among all conference players.

Other notable statistics for Kenyon were a match-best 15 kills and .344 attack percentage from junior Macy Reimbold, a match-best 15 digs from junor Ellie Luciani and 15 assists from junior Maya Sapsford. On top of those numbers, Reimbold also racked up 13 digs, while Jac Cousineau served up 14 assists.

In terms of team attacking, the difference came down to errors. Denison had 37 kills and 15 errors in 110 attempts, while Kenyon had 37 kills, but 26 errors, in 111 attempts.

The Ladies held leads of 10-6 and 13-9 in the first set, but a 6-1 run by Denison put the Big Red in the lead for good. Kenyon later closed within one point on two different occasions. That was right before the Big Red reeled off the final three points of the set.

In set two, Denison was in complete control after jumping out to leads of 10-4 and 17-9. The Ladies never got closer than five points the rest of the way.

Throughout most of the third set, neither team led by more than two points and there were a dozen times the score was tied. Denison, however, broke that last tie, at 19-19, by putting together a 5-1 run that all but sealed the match.

The Ladies will remain at home on Saturday for their next contest, which will be against Hiram College at 1 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#5 Jac Cousineau: S; 5' 7"; Junior

#19 Paige Milhon: MH; 6' 2"; Junior

#1 Macy Reimbold: OH; 5' 9"; Junior

#10 Maya Sapsford: S; 5' 7"; Junior

#3 Ellie Luciani: DS; 5' 8"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#5 Jac Cousineau
: 5' 7"; Junior
: S

#19 Paige Milhon
: 6' 2"; Junior
: MH

#1 Macy Reimbold
: 5' 9"; Junior
: OH

#10 Maya Sapsford
: 5' 7"; Junior
: S

#3 Ellie Luciani
: 5' 8"; Junior
: DS