THE LEAD
In San Antonio, DBU faced a conference rival in St. Mary's that presented an exciting match-up. The competition did not disappoint as the match went right down to the wire in five sets. After St. Mary's won the first two sets, the Lady Patriots found their composure and impressively stole the next to sets. That created a showdown for the fifth set where St. Mary's was able to inch past DBU with a 26-24 victory.
 
In one of those interesting matches where the Lady Patriots lead StMU in every statistical category, they were unable to translate that to set wins. DBU's Alexa Lezak who has really come on strong lately led the team with 20 kills. Sidnee Jo Fitzpatrick led the match with 6 blocks, and Strealy Sizelove continued to provide from her setter spot with a match leading 61 assists. Lauren Nick's contributed 27 digs to lead the match.
 
I reoccurring theme of this match was finishing. DBU began the first set with a quick six straight points, which gave them the lead 9-4. They followed this with another beautifully orchestrated run with five straight that gave them a 16-10 lead. However, the Lady Patriots were unable to continue this momentum and the gamed slipped away from them when St. Mary's went on a 8-1 run to close out the set with a 22-25 win.
 
The second set was taken away from DBU around the midway point when StMU scored five consecutive points and taking the lead 9-12. From that point, St. Mary's enjoyed the lead the rest of the match as they won 20-25.
 
To bring back the match, DBU preserved are relentlessly clawed their way back into this match. The Lady Patriots played brilliantly in the third and fourth sets. DBU showed to everyone just how dangerous the team can be when the Lady Patriot's offensive game is clicking. The third set was won by DBU with a 25-18 score. The fourth set was all Lady Patriots after a 4-0 run that gave them a 21-14 lead and the eventual 25-19 win. This tied up the match for DBU, extending the game to a fifth set.
 
The fifth set was a testament to both the teams toughness and competiveness. This set was only going to be one by the team that was going to finish because the set in itself, which tallied an outstanding 17-tied scores. The final tie was at 24-24. St. Mary's took the game away with the final two kills and won the set and match with a 24-26 score.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.209 – Hitting percentage by DBU
87 - Points by DBU outscoring StMU's 83
96 – Digs by DBU compared to StMU's 89
70 – Kills by DBU compared to StMU's 66
 
COACH'S QUOTE
After a game that showed so many great things about the Lady Patriot's fight, heart, and perseverance, DBU just came up short. When Coach Kokel was asked about the Lady Patriot's primary focus going forward she said, "We are developing some key offensive players. In the meantime, we need to keep our serve receive and defense consistent. If they work hard and put the time in they will end up finishing the match out at the end."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
DBU is fortunate to have a week off the regroup and fine tune some areas Coach Kokel mentioned. Next Saturday on September 24, the Lady Patriots will be back at home and gearing up to face Texas A&M – Kingsville at 7 PM.