THE RUNDOWN
The DBU Volleyball team won for the first time this spring with a 3-2 win over Texas Woman's on Tuesday night at the Burg Center.  Playing in their third consecutive match that went to five sets, DBU (1-4) won the first two sets and held off a valiant comeback from TWU (0-3) to secure a one-point win.

In the first set, a 7-0 run by DBU helped the Lady Patriots overcome an early 7-3 deficit and propel DBU to a 23-16 lead.  After a TWU run pulled the Pioneers to within two points, a kill from Carly Earnest ended the TWU threat and handed DBU a 25-22 win.

DBU would take a commanding 2-0 lead with a 25-23 victory in the second set.  Once again, the Pioneers jumped out to an early 9-6 lead before a Cathy Kokel timeout set DBU on the comeback trail.  A 6-3 run for the Lady Patriots was capped off when Bailey Whitehead found an open spot in the TWU defense to tie the set at 12 apiece. 

In a back-and-forth second set, the Lady Patriots and Pioneers would remain tied, 20-20, before DBU took a 24-23 lead.  Looking for the deciding point, Bailey Hebert notched her 10th kill of the night with a shot that stayed inside the backline to secure the win and put the Lady Patriots up, 2-0.

Looking to close out TWU in straight sets, the Pioneers stayed alive with a close win in the third set.  Tied at 10 apiece, TWU outscored the Lady Patriots 15-11 the rest of the way to claim a 25-21 victory.    

In a dramatic fourth set that saw the two teams battle to a 25-25 tie, TWU sent the match to a fifth and deciding set after scoring the final two points to register the win.

Tied at two sets apiece, the Lady Patriots and Pioneers found themselves knotted at 10 in the fifth set.  The Lady Patriots would eventually take a 14-12 advantage before Sofia Black delivered the game-winning point with her 10th kill of the night.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- With the win, DBU is 14-3 in their last 17 matches at the Burg Center.
- Macey Winburn (18) and Kayla Brock (12) combined for 30 assists.
- After six straight losses to TWU, DBU has now won back-to-back matches over the Pioneers.

CATHY KOKEL ON HER TEAM'S EXECUTION DOWN THE STRETCH
"Tonight was great volleyball on both sides of the net.  Our girls executed at the right points in the fifth set to pull it out and that takes a winning attitude.  I am really proud of what we saw from them tonight."
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
27 – TWU's Kaia Saylor led both teams with a game-high 27 kills.
12 – Carly Earnest set a caerer-high with 12 kills.
4 – Bailey Hebert led DBU in kills for the fourth straight match, recording a team-high 14 tonight.

UP NEXT
DBU and TWU square-off again at the Burg Center on Wednesday night.  Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.