THE LEAD
The Lady Patriot Volleyball Team opened the 2016 season in Golden, Colorado to take on some nationally ranked teams at the Oredigger Classic. DBU was tasked to play the challenging No. 6 ranked Wayne State College right out of the gate. Madeline Dolberry led the Lady Patriots with 8 kills, while freshman made her collegiate debut with a team leading 11 assist. Senior Hannah Ballew led DBU with 8 digs in the match. 
 
For the first set, DBU struggled to gain traction as the Wayne State Wildcats constitenly held the lead throughout. Wayne State really started to pull away midway through the set as they scored four in a row, extending their lead from 9-12 to 9-16. From their, WSC had the edge as their defense pulled off all the stops holding the Lady Patriots to only four more points and winning the set 13-25.
 
The second set started with a much different story. Hannah Ballew led the Lady Patriots to an early 4-0 lead. DBU continued with their lead as they were able to pull off another four score streak to gain a 10-5 advantage. WSC however did not let that interfere with their composure as they quickly bounced back to score six unannounced points to earn a 10-11 lead. The Wildcats really put the Lady Patriots at a halt when they pulled away with eight unanswered points leading them to a 14-25 second set victory.
 
The third set started with a quick DBU score followed by the relentless Wayne State Wildcats, scoring five in a row to bring it to 1-5. This set was an exciting back and forth battle, as both teams would found their rhythms trading off on several points as DBU fought to pull ahead. In came Madeline Dolberry to serve for DBU, which lead to four straight points bringing the game to an even 13-13. The game was a balanced fight up until the Lady Patriots hit a wall after their eightieth point and the WSC took advantage and pulled away with a 19-25 set and match win.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.057 Hitting percentage registered by DBU.
41 Kills by WSC compared to DBU's 29.
97 Total attempts by DBU compared to WSC's 84.
38 Assists by WSC compared to DBU's 24.
 
WHAT'S NEXT
The Lady Patriots face Colorado School of Mines as the second match of the Oredigger Classic at 7:30pm.