DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Stumbles Versus Louisville
10/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Despite a respectable .226 team clip (32-13-84), the Blue Demons were never able to generate much momentum as Louisville controlled the tempo of the entire match. Molly Creek hit a career-best .417 (6-1-12) attack percentage to drive the offensive effort, while Lauren Blasi also contributed six kills. Sarah Cullen paced DePaul with eight kills. Louisville's Lola Arslanbekova and Anastasia Artemeva each reach double-digit kill totals to raise the Cardinal's overall kill tally to 42.
The Blue Demons were forced to take a timeout early in the opening game, after Justine Landi served for three-straight points to give Louisville a 5-2 advantage. Following the pause in the action, Carney terminated the ball to give DePaul the serve, setting up a kill from the swing of Sammy Geiger to pull within one. The Cardinals responded with 7-2 run of their own to build the lead to six. The Blue Demons erased two match-points with a Creek put away and sound defense, but ended the first frame, 18-25.
Louisville's .636 (13-1-19) game-two attack percentage was too much to overcome, and quickly went into the break with a 2-0 lead. While both Carney and Creek did not commit a single attack error, the Cardinals boasted four student-athletes who hit over .500. Kasey Heckelman put the final ball away to win 25-12.
Following the intermission, the DePaul was able to settle into its offensive rhythm, tallying 10 kills with just three attack errors. Rachel Aumann, Blasi, and Carney each recorded two put downs, while Cullen paced the Blue Demons with three.
After falling behind 4-1, the Blue Demons rallied back to knot the score back up at six following a kill from the hand of Aumann. The Cardinals answered back with three points of their own, prompting DePaul to use a timeout to break up the drive. Louisville continued to control the pace, however, and found itself at match-point following a kill from Artemeva. The Blue Demons erased one match-point, taking advantage of a service error, but Artemeva put the match away 25-18 with the final put away.
Geiger managed the offense with 26 of the team's 31 assists, while Cullen led in the defensive category as well with nine digs.
DePaul returns to McGrath Arena on Sun., Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. to face Cincinnati. The Bearcats tangle with Notre Dame tomorrow afternoon in a battle of the two lone teams in the BIG EAST who boast a perfect league record. Live video and stats of Sunday's match will be available at www.depaulbluedemons.com, while Radio DePaul will be providing the play-by-play and commentary.
Noting the Blue Demons
Sarah Cullen ranks 10th in the BIG EAST with 3.26 kills-per-game and seventh with an overall kill total of 223... Molly Creek set a new single-match high with .417 (6-1-12) attack percentage... Chandler Carney improved her career-best attack percentage to .429 (11-2-21) against Villanova... Louisville leads the all-time series against DePaul 19-2... Cullen has reached the double-digit kill plateau on ten occasions this season... she has also registered a double-double (kills-digs) in eight matches this season bringing her career total to 35... other Blue Demons to record a double-double inclued Christy Landschoot (Assists-Digs) and Sammy Geiger (kills-assists)... Cincinnati holds a 23-12 series advantage over the Blue Demons... Sarah Cullen has reached double figures in digs during 12 matches this season to lead the squad, while Chelsea Thurlby has reached the plateau 10 times... while Rachel Aumann tops the overall blocks total with 34, Chandler Carney has recorded an impressive seven solo blocks.
