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DePaul's Late Surge Gives the Blue Demons the 3-2 Victory
RALEIGH, N.C. - After falling behind 2-0, the DePaul team staged and exciting come-from-behind victory over Dartmouth, 3-2 (23-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-13). The Blue Demons went undefeated on Day One of the NC State Raleigh Crabtree Valley Marriott Classic to improve to a 5-3 record. The Big Green fell to 2-2.
DePaul out-hit Dartmouth, tallying 64 kills compared to 48. Kate Letcher hit a season-best 16 kills on a .345 (16-6-29) clip. Sarah Cullen followed close behind with 14 put aways and paced the floor with 22 digs. Sammy Geiger managed the offense with 44 assists. The Big Green surged into a decisive lead, edging the Blue Demons in the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-21. On the brink of defeat, DePaul clawed its way back into the match earning its first point in the third stanza. The team relied on the swings of Chandler Carney, Cullen, Geiger and Letcher who all terminated the ball with a kill three times. Still behind by a set, the Blue Demons continued to fight, capitalizing on a meager Big Green hitting percentage of .036, while recording 16 kills of their own. Letcher gave DePaul the 20-13 after tallying her sixth put down of the stanza. Rachel Aumann clinched the set with a kill, and forced a fifth game. The Blue Demons fell to an early 4-1 deficit after back-to-back kills from Megan MacGregor. An 8-2 run, highlighted by two Cullen kills and a service ace from Katherine Knutson, put DePaul back in the lead. Two kills from Aumann and another from Cullen brought DePaul to match point. A service error from Dartmouth capped off the Blue Demon comeback, and gave them the 1-0 all-time series lead over the Big Green. Cullen paced the floor with four kills on eight attempts. Madeline Baird and Annie Villanueva paced Dartmouth with 12 kills each. DePaul returns to action at 9:45 a.m. (CST) Saturday morning to tangle with Xavier, followed by a 4:45 match with George Mason.
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