UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – In a thrilling and electrifying performance in front of a home crowd, John Carroll Volleyball continues to be in the win column. 

The Blue Streaks earned their seventh-straight win this afternoon against the Denison Big Red in four sets: 25-23, 25-21, 23-25, and 26-24. 

In the first set, John Carroll came out of the gate with a 3-0 lead. Denison answered back with a run of their own to make it 4-3. From then on, it was a back-and-forth contest between the two. Attack errors towards the end of the first set from the Big Red would result in the Blue Streaks to capitalize. A kill from Natalie Glowe, assisted by Tess Humphrey allowed JCU to earn the first set of play.

After JCU picked up a 7-2 lead to begin the next set, Denison clawed their way back to make it close once again. Several different lead changes were made and both teams managed to make crucial plays down the stretch. With the score tied at 19 after a kill from Hailey Williams to spark the offense, contributions from Natalie Glowe and Kallan Hrics ultimately paid dividends as the Blue Streaks built a lead late. Mary Kate Sheehan answered with a kill of her own to pick up the momentum as the Blue Streaks came away with a 2-0 set lead. 

Throughout the third set, the Blue Streaks struggled to maintain their offense, allowing Denison to capitalize on their mistakes. Both teams traded runs and errors of their own, allowing another close set between the two in the midst of the third set. A 21-19 lead for JCU would result in Denison responding with two major plays, building their energy to ultimately earn three straight kills to earn their first set. 

Pressure amounted to the Blue Streaks, but they were able to make adjustments on the fly early. Grace Jones became an early contributor to the mix, stopping a run from Denison that would keep them within a couple of points to start the fourth set. Both teams traded leads, resulting in another battle to determine if there would be a fifth set. Players including Mary Kate Sheehan and Kendra Dziubinski made smart plays to help propel the offense. JCUs backs were against the wall as Denison came away with their largest lead of the contest by a score of 22-17. The Blue Streaks overcame adversity, going on a 7-0 run to defeat Denison by a final score of 26-24. 

Looking at player statistics, Natalie Glowe collected a total of 18 kills, while Mary Kate Sheehan recorded 13 kills. Glowe hit over .400, as well as Kendra Dziubinski.  Tess Humphrey earned a season high of 31 assists. Both Kallan Hrics and Hailey Williams would have themselves a day. Hrics recorded six kills, while Williams earned eight. Hrics and Sheehan also hit over .300. 

It was a special day in University Heights for JCU Volleyball as they will look to build upon their win streak going into next week. 

Coach Michele Benoit was pleased with the results this afternoon from her squad. "The team played cohesively throughout the match, but when it mattered the most, we rose to the challenge," Benoit emphasized.

Benoit also mentioned the effort it took to earn the win. 

"This is the second match in a row where we came from behind to run off six points to secure the victory. We as coaches are incredibly proud of the grit we showed today. Huge shout out to our fans for bringing the energy from start to finish."

The Blue Streaks are back at home and will take on the Spartans of Case Western Reserve University at 7:05pm on Wednesday, October 15th live on Rock Entertainment Sports Network.