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Volleyball Wins DePaul Invitational
CHICAGO The DePaul volleyball team extended its winning streak to four matches and claimed the DePaul Invitational title with a 3-0 (30-28, 30-18, 30-28) victory over South Alabama, Saturday at McGrath Arena. The Blue Demons improve to 4-5 on the season, while South Alabama falls to 3-3. DePaul freshman setter Christy Landschoot earned the Invitational's Most Valuable Player award. The freshman dished out 138 assists in the Blue Demons' three tournament wins, including 40 against South Alabama. Freshmen Charla Drabant, Jacie Fiedler and Kate Letcher were also named to the All-Tournament team. Fiedler and Drabant paced the offense against South Alabama; each recording 12 kills. Sophomore Sarah Cullen followed and finished with 11 kills. After trailing for most of game one, the Blue Demons found themselves down 26-21; but the squad fought its way back using a 7-2 run, and tied the game at 28 on a Fielder kill. Cullen served up an ace for DePaul's 29th point and Drabant ended the game in dramatic fashion with a kill. Commanding the lead from the first point of game two, the Blue Demons built a 19-9 lead fueled high octane offense and exceptional defense. DePaul's 10 point lead was its largest of the match. Drabant blasted six kills and Fiedler followed with five to lead the Blue Demon offense that finished game two with a .333 attack percentage. The defense was also outstanding as the Jaguars recorded a match-low five kills and hit a dismal .030. The third set, was a game of side outs as neither team led by more than four points. After being down 23-19, USA strung together a 10-4 run to take a 28-27 lead and put pressure on DePaul. The Blue Demons answered, tying the game at 28 on a USA attack error. Drabant followed with a kill to give DePaul a 29-28 advantage. Together DePaul's Fiedler and Drabant stuffed a USA ball to give the Blue Demons a 30-28 victory. The Blue Demons tallied seven total blocks, with Fielder leading the team with a season-high five totals blocks. USA registered 10 team blocks, with Hilary Lobenstein registering a team-high six block assists. Juliana Pallamin de Almeida led South Alabama with 11 kills for a .240 attack percentage. The Blue Demons take the week off before traveling to Bowling Green, Ohio for the Falcon Invitational, September 14-15. DePaul faces Bowling Green on Friday at 6 p.m. (CST) and tangles Valparaiso and Duquesne on Saturday.
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