DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Notre Dame
Blue Demons Battle to Four Sets Against Fighting Irish
10/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Oct. 14, 2011
CHICAGO - A commanding second set win and a loud supporting crowd were not enough for the DePaul volleyball team on Friday night as the Blue Demons fell to visiting BIG EAST Conference foe Notre Dame in four sets. DePaul drops to 4-16 on the season and 1-6 in BIG EAST play while the Fighting Irish improve to 11-6 overall and 4-3 in league action.
A tough first set saw the Fighting Irish get ahead and stay ahead. Notre Dame hit at a staggering .375 percentage in the frame as its defense held the Blue Demons to just .032 on the attack. After Notre Dame got out to an early 3-0, it continued to increase its lead on DePaul and pulled out a 25-13 first set win.
Looking to put the first frame behind them, the Blue Demons took control in set two. Briana Spruill opened with a strong kill and the two squads fought back and forth through with no team gaining an edge greater than three points. The teams found themselves even at 10-10, 14-14, 18-18, and 20-20 before the fans got in on the action. With over 500 in attendance, the Blue Demons thrived off the crowd's energy and began to take over.
"I was thrilled. It was exciting," DePaul head coach Nadia Edwards said about the atmosphere. "A message to the fans-we need you. I'd love to have [this crowd] every single night."
Back-to-back Notre Dame attacking errors combined with a thunderous kill by Anastasiya Shutava put the Blue Demons up 23-20. The Fighting Irish managed to tie it up thanks to a kill, an ace, and a DePaul error, but kills from Natalie Rizzo and Lauren Blasi sealed the second set victory at 25-23. Rizzo, who finished with five attacks and no errors in the match, provided the spark the Blue Demons needed.
The third set was as fiercely contested as the second and junior Rachel Aumann turned on the offense. Aumann swatted down six kills and no errors in the set for an .857 percentage. Aumann was not alone, however, as senior Molly Creek tallied three kills of her own.
"All of our middles collectively hit .350," Edwards said about the work of her DePaul middle hitters. "If we have our middles that efficient then we can do a lot of things in all parts of our game."
The Blue Demons fell into an early hole in the frame but came alive and clawed their way back into it. The crowd witnessed several stellar digs by sophomore Allyson Rooks and junior libero Kelsey Bowler to keep multiple rallies alive. Down by as many as five points, DePaul pulled the score to 23-20 but back-to-back Irish kills put Notre Dame up two sets to one over the Blue Demons.
Unfortunately for DePaul, the fourth set resembled the opener, as the Fighting Irish grabbed a lead and held on.
"They're a very young and athletic team," Edwards noted about Notre Dame. "It's exciting to have teams like that in your gym and to be able to compete against them."
A 5-1 early advantage forced a DePaul timeout. Out of the break, Rizzo tallied a kill but Notre Dame proved to be too much for the Blue Demons as they took the final set by a commanding 25-11 score and took the match three sets to one.
Following the match, Edwards said, "I definitely think that in moments we played very well against Notre Dame. There were moments when everything really came together for us.
"Overall," she continued, "we passed pretty efficiently which gave us the ability to run our middle which is what we wanted to key on. In terms of executing the game plan, we did in moments. I think we can definitely learn some lessons as we move forward."
DePaul returns to action on Tuesday as it heads on the road to face Western Illinois. Fans can listen in on ChicagolandSportsRadio.com during the 7 p.m. match in Macomb, Ill.
