DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
West Virginia
WVU Sends DePaul to Fourth Conference Loss
10/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Oct. 7, 2011
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - Despite a strong early effort from the DePaul volleyball team, the Blue Demons fell in three sets to West Virginia in their first road match of the season. DePaul dropped to 4-14 overall and 1-4 in BIG EAST Conference play while the Mountaineers improve to 4-12 and 1-4 in league action.
The two squads played even through the first 12 points of the opening set before the Mountaineers began to pull away. The score tied on five occasions and the lead changed on three in the frame, a testament to the solid competition. With the score at 6-6, West Virginia served two aces, benefited from a pair of DePaul errors, and swatted down two kills to pull ahead 12-7. Although the Blue Demons knocked down five straight points to pull within three at 22-19, the Blue Demons could not muster the necessary comeback in the frame as they fell by a 25-19 final.
The second set began with three straight points for West Virginia and the Mountaineers got out ahead 9-3, picking up where they left off. West Virginia grabbed a seven-point lead at 15-8, but the Blue Demons countered with a forceful rally. DePaul tallied five of the next six points to make it 16-13 and the teams traded points for the next few services. The Blue Demons came within two of the Mountaineers at 17-15 but tacked on just two more points in the set, dopping their second set of the match by a 25-19 final.
In the third set, the Mountaineers' 5-0 run to open the frame set the tone for the deciding set. Senior Sammy Geiger added three kills and Anastasiya Shutava registered two in the set but DePaul committed eight attacking errors in the frame and were stymied by the Mountaineer defense who held the Blue Demons to a .000 hitting percentage. West Virginia closed out the frame and the match with a Evyn McCoy kill, sending DePaul to its fourth BIG EAST defeat of the season.
DePaul returns to action on Sunday in its second road match of the season. The Blue Demons face off against Pittsburgh in a 1 p.m. contest and look to get back on track in conference action.
