DePaul University

Valparaiso 3, DePaul 0

Duquesne 3, DePaul 0

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio The DePaul volleyball team closed out the Falcon Best Western Invitational on Saturday by dropping a pair of matches to Valparaiso and Duquesne.  The Blue Demons fall to 4-8 on the season after losing 3-0 (30-15, 30-22, 30-16) to the Crusaders and 3-0 (30-27, 30-20, 34-32) to the Dukes.

Freshman middle blocker Jacie Fiedler totaled 30 kills in three matches over the course of the weekend and earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team.  She notched 15 kills against Duquesne while recording a match-high .682 attack percentage.

The Blue Demons faced a red hot Valparaiso’s offense in their first match of the day as the Crusaders posted a .425 attack percentage and 43 kills.  In contrast, DePaul managed 29 kills on a .010 attack percentage.  Allison Sears of Valparaiso led all players with 13 kills and a .579 attack percentage, while Fiedler’s 10 kills were the most from any Blue Demon.

DePaul jumped to a quick 3-0 lead in the first game before Valparaiso answered with a series of scoring runs.  A streak of eight unanswered points gave the Crusaders a 20-7 advantage and the Blue Demons never recovered as Valparaiso won 30-15.

Valparaiso took the first point the second set and never looked back.  DePaul’s 10 errors and 12 kills resulted in a .057 attack percentage, while the Crusaders hit .379 and picked up a 30-22 decision.

Unable to score more than two unanswered points, the Blue Demons trailed for the entire third game.  Valparaiso posted 15 kills and hit .429 while reeling off several scoring runs on the way to a 30-16 victory.  DePaul hit .111 with nine kills and six errors in the final frame.

Sophomore outside hitter Sarah Cullen led the DePaul defense with seven digs, while freshman libero Katherine Knutson followed with six digs.  Freshman outside hitter Charla Drabant added eight kills to Fiedler’s 10 and freshman setter Christy Landschoot dished out 27 assists.

DePaul’s offense picked up against Duquesne as the Blue Demons hit .211 and posted 54 kills in their final match of the weekend.  Three Blue Demons notched double-digit kills as Cullen matched Fiedler’s 15 and Drabant chipped in 11.  The Dukes recorded 51 kills but committed only 12 errors to DePaul’s 23.

DePaul and Duquesne kept pace with each other throughout a first game that saw the score tied on 16 occasions.  The Blue Demons pulled ahead, 22-21, on a kill from junior outside hitter Caitlin Callaghan; but the Dukes responded with four unanswered points and stayed ahead for the 30-27 decision.

The Blue Demons scored the first three points of the second frame and kept the lead until Duquesne took a 10-9 advantage on a DePaul attack error.  The Blue Demons regained the lead at 13-12 before Duquesne answered with nine straight points, creating a 21-13 margin.  The Dukes pulled away down the stretch for a 30-20 victory.

The final frame was marked by side outs as neither team scored more than three unanswered points.  The Blue Demons held a 29-28 advantage but Duquesne stayed alive and jumped ahead to take the 34-32 decision.

Landschoot fed 47 assists to the DePaul offense, bringing her tournament total to 89 assists.  Cullen and Knutson both posted double-digit digs against Duquesne, with 12 and 11, respectively.

The Blue Demons host Western Illinois at McGrath Arena this Tuesday, September 18, for a 7 p.m. (CST) match before opening their BIG EAST schedule on the road.  DePaul travels to West Virginia on Friday for a 6 p.m. match and wraps up the week at Pittsburgh on Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest.