After playing two gritty and determined matches during the first day of the 2011 Lady Patriot Classic, DBU Volleyball came out on the short end of a 3-0 score against Colorado State-Pueblo Saturday afternoon.

"They were stronger and more aggressive. I thought they had control of the match the whole time and we were too late adjusting to the pace of the game," said Head Coach Cathy Ray Kokel. "Some of that was my fault. I should have made a change earlier in the game but we just spent too much time playing catch up."

After dropping the first game 25-18, DBU trailed late in Game 2 as well, 21-15. Krystal Wunderlich tried to provide some momentum for the Lady Patriots as she recorded a big kill and bigger block to get the game to 21-17 but that was as close as DBU would come as they lost the game, 25-19.

Game 3 saw each team make some mini-runs but it was tied at 19 before the Lady Thunderwolves put the Lady Patriots away. Coach Kokel did see some bright spots for the squad, though. "I thought out defense was fantastic. That was the only thing we did better. My hope is tonight we come out more aggressive on offense and just that we enjoy the game more. I think sometimes we get caught up in situations and scores and we just need to enjoy the game more."

The Lady Patriots will get that chance tonight at 6:00 in The Burg Center against Missouri Southern.