DePaul University
Butler
Blue Demons Complete Comeback over Butler
10/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Box Score: DePaul 3, Butler 2 
CHICAGO - Going down 2-1 after the third set, the DePaul volleyball team answered by winning the final two sets and defeating Butler, 3-2 (20-25, 25-19, 15-25, 25-20, 15-11), on Wednesday afternoon. With the win, DePaul improves to 4-1 in the BIG EAST and 10-7 overall. Butler falls to 2-3 in conference play and 13-8 overall.
Colleen Smith continued her stellar BIG EAST play with her ninth double-double of the season and sixth straight. Smith finished with 50 assists, 11 digs and two blocks.
Myah Reed closed the afternoon with a career-high 21 kills on 44 attacks to lead the Blue Demons. Reed hit for a .318 percentage and added two blocks to her stat line.
Caitlyn Coffey blocked a team-high six attacks for the Blue Demons and tallied nine kills on 18 attacks.
It was a loud Wednesday afternoon for McGrath-Phillips Arena with Field Trip Day and over 1,000 in the stands. The match saw a 9-9 start, thanks to Reed securing a kill. Butler went on a 4-1 run and forced a DePaul timeout. Late in the set, the two sides traded 14 points in a row. The Bulldogs notched three of the final four points to win the first set.
DePaul answered in the second set by breaking an 8-8 tie with five straight points. The Blue Demons held off the Bulldog attack, never allowing Butler within more than two points of the lead. With the score set at 20-18, the Blue Demons notched the next four points and tied the match off a Butler service error.
In the third set, Butler jumped out to a lead of eight at 16-8 and forced DePaul to call its second timeout of the frame. The Bulldogs built their lead to as large as 11 on two occasions and cruised to a third set victory, 25-15.
With the match on the line, DePaul and Butler battled to five ties in the fourth set with the latest coming at 20-20 after a Butler kill. A clutch kill by Claire Anderson gave DePaul the lead and jumpstarted a 5-0 rally to win the fourth set and force a fifth and final set.
The fifth set saw Butler grab the early lead, 3-2, but DePaul answer by securing the next three points. Butler and DePaul would be tied at six, seven and 11-all before DePaul called a timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Brittany Maxwell and Anderson claimed back-to-back kills and put DePaul up by two. Butler called a timeout, but it would not help the Bulldogs as a pair of attacking errors gave DePaul its 10th win of the year and completed the 3-0 home stand.
Wednesday's victory marked the first three-match conference win streak for DePaul since joining the BIG EAST and first time the Blue Demons have started BIG EAST play with a 4-1 record. The four wins in conference play match last season's total.
DePaul travels to a pair of BIG EAST matches this weekend. On Friday, the Blue Demons take on Seton Hall in South Orange, N.J. and follows with St. John's on Saturday.
