DePaul University
Iowa
Volleyball Falls in Final Match of Weekend to Iowa
8/27/2016 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
DEKALB, Ill. - In its final match of the NIU Invitational, DePaul fell in straight sets to Iowa Saturday afternoon (25-18, 25-21, 25-22). The Blue Demons finish the weekend with a 1-2 record. Iowa remains undefeated at 2-0.
Colleen Smith closed the match with team-highs in assists (26) and digs (eight). Brittany Maxwell hit double-digit kills for the third time this weekend with 10 kills on 17 attacks, committing zero errors.
Close play between DePaul and Iowa to start the match produced 11 ties with the latest being 13-13. An Iowa 5-1 run after the tie gave the Hawkeyes a cushion midway through the set at 18-14. DePaul cut the lead to three later in the set,19-16, when Jasmine King secured a kill off a Smith set. The Hawkeyes answered with a 3-0 rally and eventually claimed the first set, 25-18.
DePaul came out on top early in the second set, thanks to a 4-0 rally that featured kills by Myah Reed and Jameson MacPhie. Iowa came back to tie the set at 9-9 and the two sides battled to a score of 13-13. Despite a strong push by the Hawkeyes after the tie, the Blue Demons brought the score within one, 20-19, after forcing an attacking error from Iowa. A late run by Iowa helped the Hawkeyes win the second set, 25-21.
Much like the first set, the third set featured back-and-forth play early in the set with both sides deadlocked at 14-all. Iowa earned the next three points, but DePaul answered with back-to-back kills from Caitlyn Coffey and King. Neither team could build enough momentum to take over the set, trading the next 12 points to set a score of 23-22 in favor of Iowa. A DePaul attack error set Iowa up for match point and the Hawkeyes secured the final point off a Lauren Brobst kill to win the set and match.
The Blue Demons return to action next weekend when they head to Fresno, Calif. for the Bulldog Showdown. DePaul is set to face Portland and Fresno State on Friday and Portland State on Saturday.
NOTES
- Colleen Smith's 81 assists this weekend bring her within 210 assists of third place in DePaul program history for career assists.
- Jameson MacPhie's 2.82 kills per set average this weekend almost doubles her average in 2015.
- Brittany Maxwell leads the team with a 3.27 kills per set average and .271 hitting percentage. She was named to the All-NIU Invitational Team on Sunday.
- Jasmine King has an even 1.00 blocks per set after the NIU Invitational.
