Marquette Tops Blue Demons
10/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
MILWAUKEE, Wis. -- The DePaul volleyball team dropped a 3-1 (30-25, 30-23, 30-32, 30-20) BIG EAST Conference match to Marquette, Sunday at the Al McGuire Center. The Blue Demons slip to 5-15 and 1-6 in conference play while the Golden Eagles improve to 8-8 and 5-2 in the league.
Marquette controlled the tempo of the match as three Golden Eagles finished with double-digit kill totals and outside hitter Kimberly Todd notched a double-double. Todd paced the floor with 15 kills and chipped in a team-best 14 digs.
Freshman middle blocker Jacie Fiedler led the Blue Demons offensively for the second time this weekend as she blasted 14 kills and led all players with a .423 attack percentage. Freshman outside hitter Kyndell Highland had a breakout performance, registering her first double-double of her collegiate career. Highland finished with 12 kills and led all players with 19 digs. Libero Katherine Knutson tallied 13 digs in the loss.
Both teams registered 12 kills in the first game, but the Blue Demons hit a dismal -.050 which allowed Marquette to take the game 30-25.
Building on their game one performance, the Golden Eagles never trailed in the second set and were paced by Jenn Brown's five kills and .556 attack percentage. Marquette won game two, 30-23.
The Blue Demons offense came alive in game three as the quartet of Sarah Cullen, Kate Letcher, Highland and Fiedler all recorded four kills and the Blue Demons tallied 20 in their 32-30 victory.
After falling behind 10-7, Knutson served up six straight DePaul points to give the Blue Demons a 13-10 advantage. Marquette battled back and tied the game at 14 and the teams would continue to trade side outs for the remainder of the game. DePaul reached game point on a kill by Fiedler, but a service error would knot the game at 29. The Blue Demons notched their 31st point on a kill by junior Caitlin Callaghan and would use an attack error by Todd for their final point of the game.
Following the game three loss, Marquette fired on all cylinders in game four and hit a match-high .205, while the Blue Demons recorded a gloomy .043 in the final set. The Golden Eagles won the final game 30-20.
The Blue Demons return to the court on Friday, Oct. 19 when they travel to South Bend for a BIG EAST match with Notre Dame. The match is slated to begin at 3 p.m. (CST)