The College of Wooster volleyball team battled Denison University in North Coast Athletic Conference Action on Saturday, dropping a straight set match 25-21, 25-17, 25-16. 
 
The offense was feast or famine throughout the whole match for Wooster (9-12, 1-4 NCAC) as the Scots recorded 31 kills compared to 19 attacking errors for a .110 hitting percentage. However, Wooster's defense held up strong with seven total blocks and nearly matched Denison (8-14, 2-3 NCAC) with 53 digs, holding the Big Red to a .241 hitting percentage. 
 
Right from the start, Denison put pressure on the Scots, landing a pair of aces within the first five points. Meanwhile, the offense struggled to connect until the 10th point when junior MC Werth put down the Scots' first kill.

The Big Red held a slight advantage throughout most of the set but things started to get tight late in the frame when senior Kora Burill, sophomore Caitlin Walsh-Knouff and sophomore Ava Hills combined for four kills in a 4-1 run to force a Denison timeout leading 22-19. The Big Red won the ensuing point, forcing a Wooster timeout.

After the second break, sophomore Kennedy Muhlenkamp and Walsh-Knouff connected for another kill followed by a Denison setting error. Suddenly, the Scots only trailed 23-21.

However, two quick kills sealed the first set for the Big Red. 
 
Denison claimed the momentum right away in the second set with a 4-1 run eventually followed by a 7-0 clip. Burill and Hills put an end to the run with a kill each but, by that point, the Big Red held enough of a lead that the set felt secured.

Wooster wouldn't go down without a fight, however, as three straight kills, one from Burill and two from Walsh-Knouff, helped the Scots fight off three set points before a service error sent the second set Denison's way.
 
The Muhlenkamp and Walsh-Knouff connection continued clicking early in the third set to the tune of a 3-1 Wooster lead. Denison wouldn't back down, though, as the Big Red tied the set up at 4-4, 8-8 and 11-11.

Devon Moore could not be stopped as she put down three straight kills as part of a 7-1 Denison run, forcing the Scots to call a timeout. Burill and Walsh-Knouff combined for a block to kill the run but more errors pushed the Big Red closer to the finish line where Claire Hamilton sealed the match with back-to-back kills. 
 
Hamilton and Moore tied for a game-high 11 kills to lead the Big Red while Walsh-Knouff was Wooster's leader with eight kills. Muhlenkamp outdueled sophomore Amelia Kurtz's 24 assists to 23. Junior Catherine Muzilla was the lone player to reach double-digit digs on the afternoon with 13 while Hills brought down 3.5 blocks on her own. 
 
Wooster continues NCAC play on the road against Wittenberg University on Wednesday.