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DePaul Stumbles to Season-Opening Loss
Aug. 26, 2011 LARAMIE, Wyo. - Despite a substantial push late in the third set, the DePaul Blue Demons volleyball team fell in straight sets to Oregon State on Friday morning in the opening match of the UniWyo Invitational in Laramie, Wyo. Early leads in each of the three sets forced the Blue Demons (0-1) into uphill battles.The Beavers (1-0) took hold of the first set early, pulling away with a 5-1 start that was aided, in part, by the Blue Demons themselves who committed three straight errors. As a result, DePaul was forced to play catch-up for the remainder of the first frame. The Blue Demons stumbled to a 25-17 opening set loss despite a solid effort from senior Sammy Geiger, who registered two kills and seven assists. In the second set, DePaul opened with a kill by Lauren Blasi but the Beavers followed with a 6-0 run before a Blue Demon timeout. After some back-and-forth play, DePaul came back within four, but OSU capitalized with another 6-0 run to push the set out of reach. Five service aces by the Beavers helped to eventually make for a 25-11 final in the second frame. The third set saw plenty of action as DePaul was forced to rebound from a 5-0 deficit at the start. Freshman Amy Lanski, who made her collegiate debut in the first frame, provided much of the offense for the Blue Demons with five kills in the third set. Her second kill of the third stanza brought DePaul to within two points, but the 11-9 score wouldn't hold for long as the Beavers responded with six straight points. With match point looming, the Blue Demons made an impressive push near the end of the final set. Down 20-10, DePaul outscored Oregon State 8-4 but was unable to pull the score level. The Beavers were able to thwart a Blue Demon comeback as they held on for a 25-18 final and the 3-0 sweep. DePaul will return to action this evening in its second match of the invitational as it matches up against South Dakota at 6 p.m. in Laramie. The Coyotes went 14-19 last season, finishing as the Great West Conference tournament runner-up in 2010. Notes: Lanski, Gamsky, and Mariah Truscinski made their collegiate debuts...junior transfer Kelsey Bowler made her DePaul debut...the Blue Demons are in the midst of a seven-match losing streak dating back to last season...DePaul is now 15-15 in season openers since 1982...the Blue Demons registered double-digit kills (12) in the third set...OSU notched 10 service aces while the Blue Demons amassed none... DePaul was limited to a .190 attacking percentage in the match while Lanski finished at .500 with eight kills and two errors in 12 chances...Geiger led the Blue Demons with 14 assists while freshman Katie Gamsky notched seven...six different Oregon State players hit over .300, led by Megan McBride (three kills, no errors, five total attacks) and Arica Nassar with a .467 percentage (nine kills, two errors, 15 total attacks)....McBride also finished with 22 assists.
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