Blue Demons Fall to Connecticut

Connecticut 3, DePaul 1

CHICAGO --  Despite DePaul senior Ellen Hayes' career-high 20 kills the Blue Demons fell to Connecticut 3-1 (28-30, 30-23, 30-15, 30-17) in BIG EAST volleyball action at McGrath Arena on Sunday.  Connecticut improves to 14-9 and 3-5 in the BIG EAST, while the Blue Demons drop to 5-19 and 0-8 in league play.

The match was highlighted with big kills and long rallies. Connecticut finished with a .306 attack percentage and 68 kills, while the Blue Demons tallied 53 kills for a .146 attack percentage.  UConn had four players–Sade Chambers, Kate Seabaugh, Megan Silver and Sarah Singer–finish with double-digit kills, while three other Huskies finished with double-digit digs. Seabaugh paced UConn with 13 kills and 14 digs.

Freshman setter Sarah Cullen piloted DePaul's offensive efforts and dished out a career-high 45 assists. Seniors Morgan Ingersoll and Hayes both notched double-doubles to lead the Blue Demons.  Ingersoll finished with 16 kills and 11 digs while Hayes led all players with 20 kills and digs.  

The Blue Demons offense started the match on fire, hitting .341 in the first frame but cooled off in the final three games. Hayes led the Blue Demons to their game one victory with eight of the squad's 18 kills. Tied at 26, the Blue Demons took advantage of two UConn errors and a pair of kills from Hayes to win the first game 30-28. 

Down 6-7 in the second game, Hayes knocked down four consecutive kills to give the Blue Demons a 9-7 lead and force a Connecticut timeout.  The two teams continued to trade sideouts before UConn took a 24-21 lead on the heels of a 5-1 run.  Connecticut went on to win the second set 30-23.   

Following the break, the Blue Demons could not get anything started offensively as they struggled at the net, hitting .053 and .056 in the final two frames.  Conversely, the Huskies terminated the ball well hitting .586 and .324, respectively.  UConn won the final two games 30-15 and 30-17.

DePaul finished with seven total blocks with senior Denae Gibson leading DePaul at the net with four block assists and one solo stuff. Hayes chipped in three block assists. 

The Blue Demons return to the court next weekend, traveling to Louisville and Cincinnati for a pair of BIG EAST matches.  DePaul faces the Cardinals on Saturday and the Bearcats on Sunday; both matches are scheduled for 1 p.m. (CST). 

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