Box Score
With Ohio Athletic Conference play just around the corner, John Carroll is still trying to find its rhythm as it fell to Denison University in three straight sets at the DeCarlo Varsity Center Thursday evening.

The Blue Streaks lost 25-19, 25-22, and 25-19 to the Big Red but were in every game.

“We're struggling with our confidence right now at the end of close games,” said head coach Laura Jensen. “We have a lot of young players, and they are still trying to learn how to win.”

Junior Charlotte Sykora led JCU with ten kills, assisted by fellow classmate Letti Barbi with eight of her own. Freshmen Sarah Orlandi and Alex Ehrett each contributed with 7 and 5 kills, respectively.

In game two, John Carroll led for most of the way and held a 21-18 advantage late but could not hold on down the stretch as Denison scored seven of the last eight points.

“We need to work on our team ball control,” said coach Jensen. “Inconsistency has been our achilles' heel late in games.”

The Streaks (3-8) and Big Red (9-2) were trading punches in the beginning of game three, as they were tied 8-8 at one point, but Denison was able to pull away and come out on top.

JCU heads to Carnegie Mellon this weekend for four games to try to establish themselves before they open up OAC play with Marietta at home next week.

“We play well enough to win in this conference,” said Jensen. “At this point, were still trying to find a lineup that can consistently capitalize and minimize mistakes.”