DePaul University
Providence
Volleyball Opens Road Weekend with Win over Providence
11/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Going on the road for the first time in over a month, the DePaul volleyball team pulled out a four-set victory over Providence Saturday afternoon, 3-1 (14-25, 25-12, 25-20, 25-22). The Blue Demons, winners of three of the last four matches, move to 16-12 overall and 4-11 in BIG EAST play, while Providence falls to 10-19 and 1-14 in the BIG EAST.
Colleen Smith recorded her team-high fourth double-double of the season when she tallied 40 assists and 11 digs for the Blue Demons. This was the first double-double for the Blue Demons since Oct. 2 against Seton Hall.
Jasmine King had another solid conference match on the day with 13 kills and eight total blocks in the four sets. King finished with a hitting percentage of .542 and no errors.
Brittany Maxwell led the attack for the Blue Demons with 15 kills on 31 attacks. The freshman closed the afternoon with a .419 hitting percentage and just two errors.
DePaul dominated at the net, winning the blocking battle by a margin of 13.0-5.0. The Blue Demons hit .331 as a team, compared to .205 for the Friars.
This is the first match since Nov. 9, 2012 (at St. John's) that DePaul lost the first set in a win. With the win on Saturday, DePaul guaranteed a winning record for the 2015 season, the second instance in the last three years.
The Friars came out swinging on their home court Saturday afternoon. After seeing the match tied at six-all, Providence pulled away to a 16-7 advantage, capitalizing on three DePaul attack errors over four points. The Blue Demons began the crawl back into the set by going on a 4-1 run to cut the deficit to six points, but it was not enough as the Friars ended the frame on a 4-0 rally to win, 25-14.
DePaul bounced back in a big way for the second set by building a lead of eight, 15-7, after back-to-back kills from Caitlyn Coffey and Callie Huebener. Providence was able to bring the score to 17-11 before DePaul produced the biggest rally of the set. The Blue Demons went off on an 8-1 run that featured two King kills, including an important set-point put away.
After each side had their shot at a dominant set, the third set proved to be closer between the Blue Demons and the Friars. Just like the second set, DePaul jumped to a big lead at 17-8 after Haley Bueser produced back-to-back service aces. The Friars were able to bring the set within three after Nicole Fletcher recorded a kill at 20-17, but that was as close as Providence would get to the Blue Demons. DePaul claimed the third set after a Providence attack error and gave the Blue Demons the match lead.
A tight contest in the fourth set that featured 12 ties had the two sides locked late at 19-all. An important 3-0 rally by the Blue Demons broke the tie and put DePaul in the driver's seat to earn its first BIG EAST road win of the year. The dramatic fourth set came to an end when Coffey capitalized on a set from Smith to solidify the match, 25-22.
The Blue Demons continue their road weekend tomorrow to take on St. John's. The Sunday match is set for a 1 p.m. CT start and can be seen live on ESPN3. Fans can visit the DePaul volleyball schedule page for necessary live coverage links.
