THE RUNDOWN
The Lady Patriots got a home win against Lubbock Christian University with a score of 3-1. This was a close match from the very beginning and stayed that way until the end. The largest set victory was only five points and two sets only had a two point differential. The DBU offense has started to improve lately and tonight they continued that trend with five players with at least six kills. The Lady Patriots also finally finished a match with a higher hitting percentage then their opponent, which is something they haven't done in awhile.

The first two sets played out similar to each other. Both teams would score consecutive points to either extend a lead or cut the opponent's lead down, but there wasn't a lot of back and forth play. The 1st set remained close until LCU, while trailing 8-9, scored six points in a row to take a 14-9 lead and they would go on to hold onto that lead the rest of the set and would win the first set 25-20. The 2nd set saw the lead change quite a few times early on and it appeared that LCU was going to go on another large run to win the set. With LCU trailing 10-13, they would score eight of the next 10 points to take a 18-15 lead. The Lady Patriots responded with a run of their own. While trailing 17-19, the Lady Patriots would score eight of the next 10 points to win the set 25-21.

After splitting the first two sets, the 3rd set held all the momentum and both teams knew it. Both teams traded the lead with each other until DBU took a 19-14 lead, which would be the largest lead of the set, and they would manage to hold off a LCU comeback and get the score up to 23-20. LCU responded scoring three in a row to tie things up at 23-23. DBU would call a timeout to regroup and it paid off as they would score three of the next four points with the help of a few LCU errors and a kill by Alexa Lezak and DBU would win the set 26-24. LCU wouldn't give up in the 4th set as the score remained close early on. With LCU leading 14-11, DBU called another important timeout to figure out a way to cut the lead down. While trailing 18-19, DBU would score four points in a row to take a strong 22-19 lead, but LCU scored four in a row right back to take a 23-22 lead. But an error by LCU and a kill by Madeline Dolberry and Alexa Lezak would allow DBU to score three in a row to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

• After splitting the first two sets, the 3rd set was easily the most important. DBU did a good job of getting a lead and holding onto it and gaining that momentum to carry with them into the 4th.
• With five players reaching at least six kills, this match showed the balance DBU's offense can reach. They can be a great offense with that many point earners.
• Despite struggling with playing from behind, the Lady Patriots didn't get rattled tonight by LCU. If they would go on a run and score four or five in a row, the Lady Patriots held in there and worked on cutting that lead down and retaking it.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
12- Brooke Clark ended with a game-high 12 kills and continues to be an efficient player for DBU as she also finished with a hitting percentage of .237.
4- The Lady Patriots had four players that played in all four sets and only commit one error. Those players were Katie Nicholson, Sidnee Jo Fitzpatrick, Strealy Sizelove, and Gabby Grindele.
9- The Lady Patriots have reached nine wins this year, which now eclipses last year's win total of eight wins.

UP NEXT
The Lady Patriots continue their 3-game home stand with a match against Southern Nazarene this Saturday at 3:00 p.m. and a match against Midwestern State on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Those will be the last home matches of the season, so be sure to come out and support your Lady Patriots.