Fiedler Fuels Blue Demons Past Chicago State, 3-0
10/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
CHICAGO -- DePaul's 6-2, middle blocker Jacie Fiedler made her height and power felt as she pounded 14 kills in the Blue Demons' 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-15) victory over Chicago State, Tuesday at the Jacoby Center. The Blue Demons have won two of their last three matches and improve to 3-17 on the season, while the Cougars fall to 0-24.
DePaul used a balanced attack and sizzling season-high .337 attack percentage to claim the straight set victory. With the Blue Demons swinging well, setter Christy Landschoot finished with 35 assists and six digs.
Landschoot found her favorite target in Fiedler as getting her the ball, resulted in a point in all but four tries. In 18 chances, Fiedler found the floor with 14 balls for an astonishing career-high .722 (14-1-18) clip. Sarah Cullen recorded her 12th double-double of the season with 10 kills and led the floor with 10 digs.
The two teams traded points in the early portions of the first set. Down 8-6, DePaul head coach Amy Hardison called a timeout to refocus her team. Following the break, the Blue Demons recorded four unanswered points which forced Chicago State to use its first timeout.
With the advantage in DePaul'ss favor, Fiedler fueled the squad offensively for the remainder of the frame. The sophomore middle blocker tallied a set-high 10 kills for an explosive .692 clip in DePaul's 25-15 set one victory.
The Blue Demon offensive picked up where they left off in the second frame as they hit a blistering .357 clip. The second set repeated the first as the two teams traded early points before the Blue Demons made their move. Tied a seven, DePaul went on 13-2 run to force a Chicago State timeout. DePaul closed out the second set on a 5-3 run.
Six different Blue Demons registered kills in their 25-13 set two victory. Cullen and Fiedler each contributed three kills while Lauren Blasi and Kyndell Highland each chipped in a pair of kills. The serve was also key in the second stanza win as Molly Creek and Mattie Boyd combined for four of the Blue Demons five aces.
With momentum on its side, DePaul took the first point of the final set and never looked back as the squad won the stanza 25-15. Up 14-11, Landschoot went to the service line where a pair of aces and two Chicago State attack errors gave DePaul an 18-11 lead. With a seven point advantage the Blue Demons cruised to a 25-15 set three and match victory.
With the offense hitting hard, DePaul's defense at the net was also tough as the Blue Demons registered nine blocks. Fiedler remained big on defense as she was credited with two block solos and a three block assists. Kate Letcher, Blasi and Cullen also contributed three block assists, while Ashley Graham and Landschoot tallied one.
The Blue Demons return to the court on Saturday, Oct. 25 when they face Seton Hall at 11 a.m. (CST). The Pirates have won each of the previous three meetings including a 3-0 victory in Lincoln Park in 2007.
Notes: Jacie Fiedler .722 (14-1-18) attack percentage against Chicago State is the second best hitting performance by a BIG EAST Conference player this season... Fiedler owns three of the league's top- 10 hitting performances this season... Sarah Cullen has 13 double-doubles (kills-digs) this season and 21 in her career...Cullen has finished the last 15 of 16 matches with double-digit kill totals... Cullen ranks second in the conference by averaging 3.72 kills per set (285 kills)... Fiedler has registered double-digit kill totals in 13 of the Blue Demons 19 matches, while she has finished 28 career matches in double-digit kill totals... the Blue Demons lead the all-time series with Chicago State 11-0.