DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Villanova
Blue Demons Fall in Five Sets to Villanova
10/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
CHICAGO - DePaul and Villanova battled for five sets Friday night in McGrath-Phillips Arena, but it was DePaul who suffered the loss, 3-2 (19-25, 21-25, 25-22, 27-25, 15-13). The Blue Demons go to 13-9 (2-8 BIG EAST) and the Wildcats improve to 19-4 (9-1 BIG EAST).
A trio of Blue Demons secured double-digit kills in Friday night's match. Caitlyn Coffey led the way with 13 kills, followed by Brittany Maxwell at 12 and Jasmine King at 11.
Colleen Smith recorded a team-high 47 assists and now needs just one assist to crack into the top-five all-time DePaul career leaders in that category.
Tyler Graham registered 14 digs on the back row, a team-best for the night.
The Blue Demons tied a season-best for team blocks with a total of 13.0. Coffey and King had six blocks each.
The two teams Friday night traded momentum in every set of the match and ended with 42 ties. The first set saw 10 ties early before DePaul took a 17-13 lead on a Smith service ace. The Blue Demons built their lead to seven when Callie Huebener landed a clutch service ace to set DePaul up for a first set victory, closed out by a Graham kill.
In the second set, the two sides played an even first half with 14 ties, the latest being at 19-all. Back-to-back points thanks to a Huebener kill and a King service ace helped DePaul break away from the Wildcats. DePaul rallied for four straight points and claimed the set on a Smith assist, Huebener kill sequence.
A 7-0 run helped Villanova to an early advantage in set number three, making the score 15-9. DePaul brought the frame deficit within two points on five occasions, forcing Villanova to call a timeout on the latest event at 23-21. After the timeout, Villanova secured two of the final three points to earn its first set of the match.
The fourth set was the only set on the night to go past 25 points. Late drama forced both sides to be deadlocked at 23-23. The teams traded the next four points as neither side could claim enough momentum to pull away. With the score set at 25-all, back-to-back kills by Villanova's Claire Crutchfield and Gabby Pethokoukis guaranteed a fifth set Friday night.
Villanova held the slight advantage in the fifth set early and constructed a lead of four after a DePaul timeout. The Blue Demons slowly battled back into the frame to tie it on a VU attack error, 8-8, and finished off a 6-0 run to take the 11-9 lead. Later in the set, the two squads were tied at 11-all and Villanova began to gain momentum. A two-point lead for the Wildcats late in the frame helped them to eventually claim the match off an Allie Loitz kill.
DePaul returns to McGrath-Phillips Arena tomorrow, Oct. 24 to face Seton Hall at 7 p.m. CT. Visit the DePaul volleyball schedule page for live coverage for Saturday's match.
