THE LEAD
The Lady Patriots opened up conference play on a positive note with a road victory against Texas A&M International. DBU came into this match ready to find some rhythm and begin conference play with a victory. That was accomplished with the help of redshirt sophomore transfer Alexa Lezak who led all in the match with 13 kills. Two other notable contributions came from Strealy Sizelove with 36 assists to the lead the match and Laruen Nicks who led everyone with 22 digs.
 
The first set began with some back and forth scores that brought the score to 6-5 DBU. After that mark, the Lady Patriots put together a rally and unloaded five straight points pulling ahead 11-5. This appeared to be a comfortable lead for DBU until TAMIU came back for revenge with a five score run of their own making the 15-14 DBU still up by one. The two team traded points the rest of the match as DBU slipped away to win 25-20.
 
The second set was all about momentum. The Lady Patriots brought the energy they delivered in the first set to establish the lead. However, a kill by Texas A&M International turned the momentum into TAMIU's favor until a powerful kill by Alexa Lezak did the same for DBU. This continued throughout the match as the set was tied at ten separate occasions. The Lady Patriots were able to do just enough to outlast TAMIU to win 25-22.
 
With one set win away from solidifying a (1-0) conference record, DBU found themselves trailing 5-7 early in the third set. That was until a game-changing kill by Carly Hess that turned the game around. That led DBU to six straight points and gave them the lead 12-8.  Texas A&M International refused to go away as they battled with relentless pursuit for a set win. The set became tied at 18 until the Lady Patriots were able to run away late with three score run to give them the set and match win with a 25-21 score.
 
BETWEEN THE NUMBERS
68 –Digs over TAMIU's 65
40 – Kills by DBU compared to TAMIU's 37
8 – Aces recorded by both teams
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Lady Patriots stay on the road as the head to San Antonio on Saturday to face St. Mary's at 12 PM for their second conference matchup.