THE RUNDOWN
DBU (8-1, 6-1) completed a 3-0 sweep over Texas A&M International (1-12, 1-5) in Laredo, Texas, on Friday night. Halee Van Poppel notched another double-double (11 kills, 13 digs), while Alyssa Parks (.500) and Sofia Black (.429) each recorded a hitting percentage north of .400 on 14 total attacks.
 
DBU found itself trailing 8-3 early before a quick 5-0 run evened the tide. A few plays later, Van Poppel jump-started another Lady Patriots surge to give coach Jordan Fish's squad a 20-14 advantage. Price Reeves put the finishing touches on a 25-17 win to give DBU the early lead.
 
The second frame concluded with the same score but began differently than set one, with DBU up 11-3 thanks to multiple service aces. The Dustdevils climbed back into contention, staving off set point three times before Reeves again produced the set-clinching kill. The Lady Patriots compiled 5 service aces en route to the second consecutive 25-17 win.
 
With both teams deadlocked at 5-5 early in the third set, Reeves picked up a block at the net and followed it up with a kill on the next play to cap a 4-0 scoring flurry. TAMIU would respond, later charging back from a 16-9 deficit to nearly pull even. The rest of the frame proved to be a back-and-forth affair, with DBU capitalizing on Dustdevil attack errors to secure the 25-20 victory and a 3-0 sweep.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
 - Despite recording a season-low 11 kills, Halee Van Poppel led all players and has extended her streak of leading the team offensively to all nine matches this season.
 - Aryn Walton led the Lady Patriots in assists (19) and service aces (3), while also connecting on both of her attacks for a perfect hitting percentage. 
 - DBU has now won six straight matches for the first time since 2019 (September 10-September 20, 2019), and just the second time since 2015 (September 29-October 15, 2015).  
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
8 – Service aces recorded by the Lady Patriots.
4 – Number of DBU players that notched double-digit digs.
.067 – The attack percentage that DBU held TAMIU at throughout the match.

COACH JORDAN FISH ON THE TEAM'S CHEMISTRY THIS SEASON
"We decided as a team early on that we wanted to be teammates and coaches that honor one another with our words and actions. We created goals that are bigger than ourselves, and I think that has helped to maintain chemistry."
 
UP NEXT
DBU will conclude its three-game road trip in Kingsville, Texas, by taking on Texas A&M-Kingsville at 1:00 pm CT on Saturday, October 9.