DePaul University Athletics
DePaul Falls to Xavier in Road Match
11/1/2013 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Nov. 1, 2013
CINCINNATI, Ohio - Facing Xavier for the first time as a BIG EAST opponent, DePaul volleyball fell 3-0 (25-19, 25-9, 25-19) to the Musketeers on Friday at the Cintas Center.
XU coach Mike Johnson achieved his 100th career win as the Musketeers improved to 16-8 overall and 7-2 in BIG EAST play. The Blue Demons dropped to 15-8 as well as 1-8 in conference action, and will return to the court tomorrow night in Indianapolis, Ind. against Butler. Match time is set for 6:00 p.m. CT.
For the match, Callie Huebener led DePaul with seven kills while contributing three block assists. As a team, the Blue Demons produced just 23 kills, which was a season-low.
Allyson Rooks fired off two aces and provided a team-high 13 digs, reaching double figures in that stat for the seventh straight match.
After hitting .276 (11-3-29) in the opening frame, the Blue Demons had a rough time getting anything going. Meanwhile, Xavier's offense was scorching hot for most of the night - the Musketeers played an errorless first set and hit .333 overall.
Most of the damage came from freshman Abbey Bessler, who had a match-high 18 kills and hit .424 from the outside. XU also limited the DePaul attack with three players in double-figure digs.
Despite an efficient frame, the Blue Demons could not answer Xavier's spotless effort in the opener. XU went errorless and hit .654 (17-0-26) en route to a 25-19 set win.
Still, DePaul was up in the first as late as 13-11 after an Abbie Fleener kill and Natalie Rizzo service ace. A five-point Xavier run swung the momentum around, however, as the Blue Demons were outscored 9-6 the rest of the way.
DePaul never led in set two, falling behind early as Xavier produced another steady offensive effort, hitting .429 (15-2-29) to claim a 2-0 lead with a 25-9 victory. DePaul was unable to get its offense going, committing seven errors and hitting a season-low -.029 in the frame.
In a sloppy third set, both teams combined for 19 errors as Xavier clinched the match with a 25-19 win. DePaul led at 8-7 after an XU attack error but lost the lead for good at 10-9.
Match Notes: DePaul's 23 kills were a season low... DePaul's .029 hitting percentage was its lowest since hitting -.076 versus USF on Oct. 21, 2011... Allyson Rooks tallied 13 digs, reaching double figures in that category for a seventh straight match... the Blue Demons' season-high losing streak was extended to five matches...
