Nike Volleyball Camp at Denison University

Carter Cassell returns for his seventh season as Denison University's Head Volleyball Coach in 2023. In his five full seasons with the Big Red, Denison has won 76 matches and has advanced to the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament in all five seasons.

The Big Red finished the 2022 season 13-13 overall, won each of their first five conference matches of the season without dropping a set, and were the only team from the NCAC to take a set off of Wittenberg. Following a second-place finish in the NCAC regular-season standings (6-1), Denison was honored with four All-NCAC selections while senior middle blocker Lucy Anderson was named the NCAC Player of the Year for the second season in a row and senior libero Jenna Corrao was named the NCAC Libero of the Year. Anderson then went on to become the first back-to-back All-Region selection in Big Red volleyball history, and one year after becoming the first All-American in the history of the Denison volleyball program, she was selected as a back-to-back Third-Team All-American by the AVCA.

2021 was a historic season for Denison volleyball as the Big Red captured the program's first-ever NCAC Championship with a perfect record of 8-0 in conference play and a mark of 19-7 overall. Junior middle hitter Lucy Anderson (Third-Team) and freshman outside hitter Daria Rodriguez (Honorable Mention) became the first two NCAA All-Americans in the history of the Denison volleyball program while Anderson was also the first Big Red volleyball player to be named NCAC Player of the Year. Rodriguez, meanwhile, was the first Denison volleyball player to earn Region Freshman of the Year and was the third in a row to win NCAC Newcomer of the Year. Additionally, Coach Cassell was named NCAC Coach of the Year for the second time in a row.

The Big Red's 2020 Fall season was canceled due to COVID-19 Pandemic. Cassell's team did play in six matches in the spring and Denison went 2-4.

In 2019, Cassell and the Big Red enjoyed a breakthrough season where DU posted an overall record of 18-8 while reaching the NCAC Tournament championship match. Cassell was also named the NCAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career while Lucy Anderson was named NCAC Newcomer of the Year and First-Team All-NCAC. Denison also turned in a 10-match winning streak from Sept. 14-Oct. 8, which is the longest winning streak in program history since 1993.

In 2017, Denison finished with a 15-14 record and advanced to the NCAC Tournament semifinals before being eliminated by top-seeded Wittenberg. Kristin Thewes and Leah Reinfranck received All-NCAC accolades, with Thewes receiving the Libero of the Year award. In 2018 the Big Red finished 11-15 but ended the campaign in strong fashion, winning four of its last six matches. First-year Peyton McElfresh was named the NCAC's Newcomer of the Year and was also a Second-Team All-NCAC selection in addition to being named to the NCAC All-Tournament Team.

Cassell came to Denison after three seasons as an assistant coach at Kenyon College. Cassell joined the coaching staff at Kenyon in 2014 along with new head coaching hire, Amanda Krampf. The new staff was charged with rebuilding the Kenyon program and Cassell was heavily involved in all aspects of planning practices, organizing the team’s strength and conditioning to scouting and recruiting. In years two and three, Kenyon posted consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1989-90. In 2016, Kenyon finished 18-12 placing third in the NCAC regular-season standings. Outside hitter Delaney Swanson was named to the All-NCAC first-team and two players earned honorable mention.

In addition to his assistant coaching duties at Kenyon, he also served in various game management roles and was a building manager for the Kenyon Athletic Center.

Cassell is a 2014 graduate of The Ohio State University where he received a B.S. in education while majoring in sports industry and minoring in business. In the summer of 2018, Cassell completed his master’s degree in coaching and athletic administration from Concordia University-Irvine.

After a standout prep career which saw him be named the 2010 Ohio Boys Volleyball Player of the Year and a Second-Team AVCA High School All-American, Cassell attended Lewis University in 2011 where he was a member of their NCAA Division I men’s volleyball team. He transferred to Ohio State the following year and was a member of the Buckeyes’ nationally-ranked club volleyball team. In 2013, he was named the Big Ten Men’s Volleyball Association Player of the Year.

Cassell is the seventh head volleyball coach in Denison history and is now ranked third in program history in wins.

Lindsay Miracle enters her eighth year as an assistant volleyball coach at Denison University in 2023. Miracle arrived at Denison after an impressive playing career at Hiram College.

The Big Red captured the program's first-ever NCAC Championship in 2021 with a perfect record of 8-0 in conference play and and a mark of 19-7 overall. Additionally, Coach Miracle helped coach the first two NCAA All-Americans (Lucy Anderson & Daria Rodriguez), the first NCAC Player of the Year (Anderson), and the first Region Freshman of the Year (Rodriguez) in the history of the Denison volleyball program

The Big Red then finished the 2022 season 13-13 overall, won each of their first five conference matches of the season without dropping a set, and were the only team from the NCAC to take a set off Wittenberg. Following a second-place finish in the NCAC regular-season standings (6-1), senior middle blocker Lucy Anderson was named the NCAC Player of the Year for the second season in a row and senior libero Jenna Corrao was named the NCAC Libero of the Year. Anderson then went on to become the first back-to-back All-Region selection in Big Red volleyball history, and one year after becoming the first All-American in the history of the Denison volleyball program, she was selected as a back-to-back Third-Team All-American by the AVCA.

A 2016 Hiram graduate, Miracle left as the only player in program history to be named to the AVCA All-American team in consecutive seasons.

In her senior season at Hiram, she posted a career-high 462 kills and became the seventh player in program history to total 1,000 career kills. A four-year starter, Miracle boasts a career hitting percentage of .270 with 1,323 kills and 202 blocks.

Miracle is also a science teacher at nearby Newark High School.

Denison University Head Volleyball Coach Cartner Cassell announced the return of Jenna Corrao ’23 to Denison as the program’s newest assistant coach on April 8, 2024.

Corrao was a defensive specialist at Denison from 2019-2022, earning North Coast Athletic Conference Libero of the Year honors as a senior. Corrao was a two-time All-NCAC honoree ('22: first-team; '21: second-team) who also earned a spot on the NCAC All-Tournament team in both 2021 and 2022 as well. As a senior, Corrao paced the NCAC in both total digs (491) and digs per set (4.81) while ranking second with 49 service aces. She recorded double-digit digs in all 26 matches on the season while reaching 20 or more digs 14 times. In 293 sets and 81 matches in her career, Corrao recorded 1,459 digs (4.98 D/S), 232 assists and 99 service aces. She was the sixth NCAC Libero of the Year in program history, and this past November, Corrao was named to the NCAC’s 40th Anniversary All-Decade Volleyball Team.

Corrao’s junior season in 2021 was an historic season for the Denison volleyball program as the Big Red captured the program's first-ever NCAC Championship with a perfect record of 8-0 in conference play and a mark of 19-7 overall.

In addition to her achievements on the court, Corrao was also a standout student-athlete in the classroom. An environmental studies and economics double major, Corrao was named to the NCAC Academic Honor Roll three times (2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23), was a 2021-22 Denison Chi Alpha Sigma inductee, and was a member of the 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District® Team.

During her time at Denison, Corrao worked as a research assistant, where she researched agriculture techniques, constructed a greenhouse and storage building, and researched flowers and foliage for Ohio's weather conditions. In 2019, Corrao was a Co-Founder at Small Crowd, where she was recognized by Denison's Women in Business Group for her entrepreneurship skills. Since 2022, Corrao has been a Sales Development Representative at iVueit.

Corrao graduated from Solon High School in 2019 and obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Environmental Studies from Denison in 2023.