THE RUNDOWN
DBU ended their road trip with a loss in four sets to Lubbock Christian. DBU dropped the first two sets before winning the third and losing the fourth and final set. It was a better match for the Lady Patriots with improvements in their attack and defense, but still couldn't find a way to get over the hump and win the match. With set scores of 25-23, 25-22, 26-24, and 25-22 it is clear that the Lady Patriots stayed competitive the entire match. Alexa Lezak and Sidnee Jo Fitzpatrick both had impressive performances on offense and defense. Lezak finished with 11 kills and 17 digs while Fitzpatrick had nine kills and six blocks. 

The first two sets saw the Lady Patriots give up a sizeable lead, but bounce back to keep things close. In the first, Lubbock Christian came out hot and got out to a 12-4 lead. After a few errors and kills by Alexa Lezak, DBU came back to take the lead at 20-19. A few errors committed by DBU would allow the Lady Chaps to regain the lead and hold onto it to win the set 25-23. The second set saw DBU go down 6-0 to start out, but they would fight back again and take a 13-11 lead. The Lady Patriots held onto the lead a majority of the set and would lead 20-17. With the help of more errors by DBU, the Lady Buffs would comeback with a strong offensive showing. They would score eight of the next 10 points to retake the lead and go on to win the set 25-22.

The Lady Patriots came out in the third set showing they weren't going to be swept. This time DBU took the early lead at 9-6 and would do a good job holding on for a majority of the match. The Lady Buffs did eventually take the lead with a score of 20-19, but this time the errors hurt Lubbock Christian. A few kills from Alexa Lezak, Madeline Dolberry, and Sidnee Jo Fitzpatrick, along with three errors by Lubbock Christian, DBU would win the set 26-24. Lubbock Christian came out ready to go in the fourth set and were able to take an early lead again. DBU found themselves down 5-12 and had to fight back for most of the set. They cut the lead down to just one point as they trailed 22-23, but Channing Stewart for Lubbock Christian would finish the job and get two straight kills to win the set 25-22 and win the match 3-1.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• Alexa Lezak continues to help the team in a variety of ways as she led the team in kills with 11 and finished second on the team in digs with 17.
• The team now has a conference record of 2-3 after today's loss.
• Despite the improving play, DBU has now lost three matches in a row.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
12- The blocking for DBU continues to impress as they finished with 12 blocks in the match.
2- The offense looked better today with the help of two players reaching at least 15 assists. Merci Perry finished with 16 and Strealy Sizelove had 22.
1- The Lady Patriots have only one set win in the last three matches.

COACH BIRD ON THE EFFORT FROM THE TEAM
"The girls played hard, but we made too many errors to come out on top today. The games were close and those errors add up. However, we are pleased with the effort the girls gave on defense and fighting back from large deficits." 

UP NEXT
The Lady Patriots will be back home for their next match on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. when they go up against St. Edward's.