THE RUNDOWN
DBU (9-4) (2-1) snuck past Texas A&M International (2-8) (0-1) Friday night in Laredo, Texas. 
Emma Eakin dominated the offense posting 19 kills to tie her career-high, while Keely Hardin tied her career-high in digs with 28.
 
In the first set, the Lady Patriots got off to a slow start trailing behind the Dustdevils 12-8, but a kill by Emma Eakin and a couple errors led DBU back to a one-point deficit.  The Dustdevils kept things moving to go for a 3-0 run to force a timeout.  After the break the Dustdevils maintained the same energy to post two more points for them to lead at 18-12. The Lady Patriots were able to push forward to post two more kills via Brooke Clark and Kasey Holand, but it wasn't enough to get ahead, as the Dustdevils extended their lead by seven points to win the set, 25-17. Keely Hardin led the first set in digs with seven.
 
It was DBU who led early in the second set posting the first five points to force a Dustdevils timeout. DBU maintained their lead for another three points, but the Dustdevils rallied back to tie the game 8-8. DBU pushed ahead to score another two points via Brooke Clark and a bad set to put them ahead at 10-8, but the Dustdevils continued to battle it out to tie the game again at 10-10.  It was a tied game for the next five points, but it was the Lady Patriots who pulled ahead to extend the lead to 19-15 to force another timeout. After the break, the Dustdevils found their footing to go on a 3-0 run. With another two points on the scoreboard, the Dustdevils came back to tie the game at 20-20.  A couple errors put the Lady Patriots back on top, but the Dustdevils fought to the end to tie the game at 24-24. A final kill via Emma Eakin and Brooke Clark gave the Lady Patriots the edge to win the set, 27-25.
 
The Dustdevils stuck ahead to a 10-6 lead in the third set, but the Lady Patriots were able to go on a 5-0 run which included three kills via Emma Eakin and a couple errors to put them ahead 11-10 before the first timeout of the set. After the break, DBU snuck ahead to post two points, but the Dustdevils came right back to tie the set 12-12. Another error and a couple Eakin kills from Strealy Sizelove put DBU back on top 15-12. The Lady Patriots went on another 5-0 run to give them a comfortable lead at 19-12. DBU remained on top for the rest of the set, with a final kill by Kasey Holand giving the Lady Patriots the win in the third set, 25-18.
 
DBU got out to another early lead in the fourth set, with Brooke Clark posting nearly half the points on the board. At 10-6, DBU continued to pull ahead with a couple kills via Hannah Tawney and some errors to put the Lady Patriots at 13-6. Three more kills from Eakin and a couple errors kept DBU on top of the Dustdevils, 18-12. The Lady Patriots stayed on top for the remainder of the set to win, 25-19.
 
KEY STORYLINES
-Sofia Black posted a season-high three digs
-Keely Hardin led the team with 28 digs to tie her career-high
-Emma Eakin led the team in kills (19) and points (22)
 
HEAD COACH CATHY KOKEL ON THE TEAM'S FIRST CONFERENCE ROAD GAME
"I feel for our first travel conference game we did well. This team is learning what works for us on the road this weekend sine we have been home so much and to pull out a win in a foreign environment on travel day was a job well done."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
12- Total blocks by the team
17- DBU had more than double the number of kills in the third set than the Dustdevils
.174- Hitting percentage compared to the opponents .097
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Patriots will head to Kingsville, Texas to face off against Texas A&M Kingsville Saturday at 2:00 p.m.