THE RUNDOWN
DBU (10-4, 7-4) climbed out of an early road deficit, winning the final three sets to clinch a 3-1 win over TWU (8-14, 3-8) on Saturday afternoon in Denton, Texas. Halee Van Poppel posted a game-high 25 kills on a .351 attack percentage, while Alyssa Parks added a career-high 13 kills and 3 blocks.

DBU fell behind early, trailing 4-1 before a Sofia Black block gave the visiting Lady Patriots a boost. That momentum continued as junior Lexy Pettitte connected on a service ace. A few plays later, Alyssa Parks fueled a 5-0 run with three kills and two blocks to give DBU a 9-6 lead. Pettitte would extend the lead to four later in the opening frame on another ace, but that was the largest lead the Lady Patriots would hold as TWU went to work. The Pioneers engineered a 15-4 stretch to close out the first set with a 25-22 victory, putting DBU in a quick hole.

Looking to even up the scoreboard, DBU notched each of the first two points and later held a 6-4 advantage on a Halee Van Poppel kill. TWU reclaimed the energy that helped them clinch the opening set, regaining the lead at 9-7 and forcing a DBU timeout. The momentum wouldn't stop there, as the Pioneers extended the lead to 16-11 before coach Jordan Fish called another timeout to regroup. It proved to be an effective call, as the Lady Patriots flipped the script with a 10-1 surge. Kayla Brock would feed Audrey Nunes to put DBU on set point, and bad set from TWU's Bailey Wozniak tied the match at 1-1.

In a pivotal third set, neither team surrendered a lead larger than two until the final stretch. With the score tied at 17, DBU churned out a 6-1 run to take control. Van Poppel rifled in her 18th kill of the afternoon, and an error ceded the Lady Patriots the final point for a second-straight 25-20 victory.

The Lady Patriots claimed a 7-2 advantage early and managed to hold on to the lead the rest of the way. Three straight Halee Van Poppel kills sandwiched by a Pioneers attack error and Sofia Black's match-ending score gave DBU the final five points of the afternoon in the 25-15 win.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
 - Halee Van Poppel eclipsed 20 kills for the fourth time this season. Her 25 kills also matched a career-high.
 - Alyssa Parks posted double-digit kills for the first time in her career, connecting on 13 of her 22 attacks for a blistering .545 hitting percentage.
 - Lexy Pettitte recorded her first two kills and first two service aces of the season, with both aces coming in the opening set.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
31 – Digs by Leah Palensky, one shy of her career-high.
26 – Assists manufactured by Kayla Brock.
.421 – DBU's hitting percentage in the third set.

UP NEXT
DBU takes on A&M-Commerce on Friday, October 29, at 6:00 p.m. in Commerce, Texas.