DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Oakland
Hard-Fought Fourth Set Results in First Loss of the Season
9/6/2019 12:13:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
PEORIA, Ill. - After falling into a 0-2 deficit, the Blue Demons won the third set but a back-and-forth fourth set would result in DePaul's first loss of the season 1-3 (23-25, 20-25, 25-16, 27-29) against Oakland Friday morning to begin CEFCU Invitational play.
FROM ZIDEK
"I have a lot of respect for Rob and the team he's built at Oakland," said head coach Marie Zidek. "They did not give us a lot of freebies and errors, which forced us to earn more points than we had to last weekend.
"We fought hard but came up just short in the execution phase of our game and kill count. That said, I am really proud of how well this team is fighting to each point. Our ball control is going to put us in every match we play this year and I am excited to see how our offense can improve."
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE » Oakland got on board first with an immediate kill but kills from Brittany Maxwell and Bailey Nelson, paired with a Golden Grizzly attack error put the Blue Demons ahead on a 3-0 run. DePaul did not break the lead and at 12-7, Oakland called the first timeout of the set. Out of the stoppage, Oakland went on a 2-0 run to close in on the deficit, but DePaul held its own, escaping into a 15-10 lead courtesy of a Claire Anderson kill and a trio of OU attack errors. Later on, three straight Blue Demon errors would bring Oakland one point away from knotting the score. Leading 16-15, DePaul called its first timeout. An Oakland kill out of the stoppage would bring the first tie since the teams met at 1-1 earlier in the set. With the lead interchanging and the difference remaining narrow, Oakland had the final say and took the first set 25-23.
SET TWO » Oakland got a head start on a 10-2 run. DePaul saw its first consecutive points on a 2-0 run featuring an Emma Price kill paired with an OU service error but still sat in a 4-10 deficit. A kill from Price followed by two kills from Mattie Norris and a Donna Brown service ace brought DePaul closer at 8-12, forcing an Oakland timeout. Out of the stoppage, kills from Norris, Avarie Evans-Allen, Maxwell and Price tacked on a handful of more points for the Blue Demons but Oakland claimed the second set 25-20.
SET THREE » Donna Brown slammed down the ball to start things off and spark a 5-1 lead on a kill from Maxwell, back-to-back kills from Norris and an OU error. The Blue Demons continued to lead by at least three points and with an 8-3 advantage, forced the first timeout from Oakland. The Blue Demons continued to lead by more than double Oakland's score out of the break and burst to a 12-4 difference on a handful of OU errors paired with a Claire Anderson service ace and a Bailey Nelson kill. Just five points were made before Oakland called another timeout. Oakland claimed four of five points out of the stoppage, leading to DePaul's first timeout of the set. The Blue Demons would go on to take their first set by a difference of 25-16.
SET FOUR » Three straight attack errors from Oakland, two Maxwell kills and a Donna Brown kill gave DePaul an early 6-0 advantage, forcing a Golden Grizzly timeout. Out of the break, A Maxwell kill and service ace along with a handful of OU errors grew DePaul's lead to 11-4. The Blue Demons advantage lived on, however, Oakland started to close in, leading to the first DePaul timeout at a 15-12 difference. Out of the stoppage, kills from Brown and Price along with an Oakland error, brought about the second OU timeout. Oakland went on a 3-0 run out of the break and would eventually come within one point of DePaul at 18-19, forcing a crucial Blue Demon timeout. The score knotted at 20-20 and met five more times but DePaul would drop by a final set score of 27-29.
LEADERS
- Kills » Brittany Maxwell (16)
- Assists » Katie Dolan (20)
- Digs » Isabelle Banez (19)
- Blocks » Avarie Evans-Allen (6)
- Service Aces » Donna Brown, Claire Anderson (2)
NEXT UP
The Blue Demons compete in two more matches as part of the CEFCU Invitational. DePaul battles Belmont this evening at 4:30 p.m. CT to conclude Friday play and faces host Bradley tomorrow at 2 p.m. CT.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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