THE RUNDOWN
DBU (12-8, 4-4) outlasted No. 22 Tarleton (11-6, 5-3) in the second day of a two-match series. This win for the Lady Patriots ends a seven game losing-streak against the Texans.
 
The Lady Patriots jumped out to an early 6-1 lead over the Texans with help from Emma Eakin who posted a pair of kills alongside Carly Earnest and Brooke Clark. DBU kept the momentum to go for a 4-0 run after a series of errors by the Texans to force a timeout at 10-4. The Texans rallied back with a 5-0 run two bring the game to a two-point deficit at 12-10. DBU stayed on top for the remainder of the set to win, 25-18.
 
It was Tarleton who came out strong in the second set to get ahead 8-2, but the Lady Patriots rallied back with a 3-0 run to close the gap to 8-5. The Texans found their footing to get ahead by double-digits at 20-10. Tarleton State kept the pace to win 25-13.
 
It was a fight to get the first point on the board in the third set, but a kill via Emma Eakin gave the Lady Patriots the advantage. DBU kept the momentum to go for a 5-0 run to stay on top of the Texans at 6-1. The Texans rallied back to a 7-0 run to get ahead at 8-6. The Lady Patriots kept the pressure on Tarleton to go for a 3-0 run with the help of a couple kills by Brooke Clark to tie the game at 9-9. Neither team allowed much breathing room, tying the game six times before the Texans pulled ahead by three points at 22-19. DBU came back to score the next two points to bring the game back to a one-point deficit ahead of a Texan timeout. After the break, DBU came back to tie the game four times, before winning, 28-26.
 
DBU kept the same energy from the previous set to get ahead 5-1 before forcing a Texan timeout. The Texans rallied back to tie the game three times at 14-14, but the Lady Patriots posted two points with the help from Lexie Houston to force a Texan timeout at 16-4. After the break, neither team allowed much breathing room tying the game seven times, before Tarleton State pulled ahead win the set 26-24.
 
In the final set of the match, neither team allowed for much breathing room keeping a tied game for the first three points. The Lady Patriots were able to push ahead with an Eakin kill and a Texan error to force a Tarleton timeout at 5-3. DBU kept the momentum to get ahead by five at 9-4 before the Texans came back to close the gap to a two-point deficit. A 5-0 run led by Emma Eakin, Brooke Clark, and Lexie Houston put the Lady Patriots at 14-8. DBU took the final the set, 15-8.
 
KEY STORYLINES
-Emma Eakin led the match with 23 kills and 24.5 points
-Keely Hardin and Alyssa Pevehouse posted 15 digs each with Brooke Clark right behind with 14
-Kayla Brock posted a career-high two service aces on the match

QUOTE FROM HEAD COACH CATH KOKEL ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WIN
"The significance of this game is huge. To have the confidence to come into this game after the way we played last night against a nationally ranked team is big in our conference pod. We were able to come in and execute the way we were supposed to. Our hitters and defense were on fire and we saw what we were capable of doing and just go with it."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
4- Lady Patriots posted two service aces each on the match
21- Total blocks by the team
60- Kills on the match
1st- Win against the Texans since 2009
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Patriots will see St. Edward's in Austin, Texas at 6:00 p.m. Friday.