|
Volleyball Falls at No. 5 Cal
BERKELEY, Calif. -- Playing the No. 5 team in the nation Cal on its home court, the DePaul volleyball team gave the Golden Bears all they could handle, but lost 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-19) in close sets. The Blue Demons fall to 0-4, while Cal improves to 4-0 on the young season. DePaul finishes the Golden Bear Invitational with a 6:30 p.m. (CST) match with James Madison tonight. The Blue Demons used a consistent and effective offense to keep themselves in the match. The squad hit a season-high .234 while sophomore middle blocker Jacie Fiedler hit a blistering .667. Sophomore setter Christy Landschoot dished out 33 assists and recorded two aces. Cal was also hot at the net as the team hit a scorching .433, with two players Hannah Cutera and Mindey Wiley finishing with attack percentages over .600. Cutera registered a match-high 18 kills and matched Fiedler’s .667 hitting percentage. The Blue Demons were not intimidated by Cal’s national ranking or home court advantage as there were 16 ties and nine lead changes in the first two sets. Fueled by Fiedler at the net, she tallied eight of her team-high 14 kills in the first two sets. After four early ties, Sarah Cullen tied the first set at 17 with an ace, but the Blue Demons would not be able to hold on as the Bears served for four points and took a 21-17 advantage. With momentum on its side Cal won the first set 25-21. Tied at 12 in the second set, the Blue Demons leaned on Landschoots serve and used a 6-1 run to take an 18-13 lead. DePaul sustained its five point advantage; however with a 20-15 lead the Golden Bears put together an 8-2 run to tie the set at 22. A kill by Cullen and an ace by Fiedler gave the Blue Demons’ set point and forced a Bear timeout. Following the break, Cal recorded a pair of kills and used a DePaul attack error to win the second set 26-24. Up 2-0, Cal settled into its offense and won the final set 25-19 behind a .500 attack percentage and 13 kills.
|
