Denison, OWU Advance to NCAC Volleyball Tournament Final

GRANVILLE, OH - After collecting semifinal victories in the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference volleyball tournament, top-seeded Denison (13-13) and No. 2-seeded Ohio Wesleyan (15-12) will matchup in the tournament championship. The tournament finale between the Big Red and Battling Bishops will take place on Saturday, November 16, at 1:00 p.m. in Granville, Ohio.

In the semifinal round, Denison collected a 3-1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-23) victory over Wittenberg, while OWU defeated DePauw in three-straight sets (25-3, 25-23, 25-19).

The Big Red and Battling Bishops will both make their sixth overall tournament final appearance, as Denison looks for the program's first NCAC tourney title, and OWU aims to earn its third overall conference tournament crown, and first since 1996. The NCAC tournament champion will earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Volleyball Tournament.

#1 DENISON (12-13) 3, #4 WITTENBERG (17-9) 1 (19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-23)
  • Denison junior Alice Kempf (Louisville, KY/Sacred Heart Academy) guided the Big Red offense as she recorded a match-high 45 assists, while sophomore Ayla Dunbar (Ann Arbor, MI/Skyline) led all hitters with 21 kills and 22.5 points. Defensively, three Denison players tallied double-digit digs including Dunbar with 13, Kempf with 12 and junior Sadie Habeeb (Independence, OH/Independence) with a match-high 18. Habeeb also added a match-high five service aces, while senior Cailey Johns (St. Charles, IL/St. Charles North) hit a team-high .308 with nine kills, six blocks and six digs.
  • Wittenberg was led by first-year Clare O'Malley (Avon, OH/St. Joseph's Academy), who posted a match-high .389 hitting percentage, contributing nine kills on 18 attempts, to go along with a match-best seven blocks. Sophomore Kait Colahan (Vermilion, OH/Vermilion) had a team-high 14 kills, while first-year Mary Sulfridge (South Charleston, OH/Southeastern) collected 44 assists and five digs and junior Ally White (Harrison, OH/Harrison) earned a team-high 16 digs.
#2 OHIO WESLEYAN (14-12) 3, #3 DEPAUW (17-11) 0 (25-3, 25-23, 25-19)
  • Ohio Wesleyan junior Lily Bechina (Chicago, IL/Jones College Prep) led the Battling Bishops to victory after producing a match-high 30 assists. Bechina also earned four digs, three kills and two blocks. OWU had two hitters produce double-digit kill performances, as sophomore Natalie Dieball (Cincinnati, OH/Lakota East) totaled a match-high 12 kills and a match-best six service aces, while senior Claire Solberg (Huron, OH/Huron) tallied 11 kills on 21 attempts with just two errors to tie with Bechina for a match-high .429 hitting percentage. Defensively, Solberg led all blockers with 10, while sophomore Avery Krause (Cleveland, OH/Holy Name) tallied a match-high 12 digs. 
  • DePauw was led by seniors Kenzie Myers (Indianapolis, IN/Heritage Christian) and Olivia Karwin (Menifee, CA/Paloma Valley), who tallied five kills apiece. Karwin added eight digs and six assists. Junior Kendall Herrick (Concord, NC/Hickory Grove Christian School) contributed a team-high 10 assists, to go along with five digs and a team-best two service aces. Defensively, junior Grace Myers (New Palestine, IN/New Palestine) recorded a team-high 10 digs and classmate Kerry O'Connor (Westerville, OH/Columbus Academy) added a team-high four blocks.

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