THE RUNDOWN
The Lady Patriots (21-5, 12-2 LSC) capped off their 2022 home schedule with a win over St. Mary's (14-12, 10-5 LSC) at The Burg. DBU honored Lauryn Burt, Bailey Hebert, AJ Koele, Kenzie McNeill, Lexy Pettitte, and Emily Van Slate as part of the Senior Day festivities.
 
Both teams came out swinging in a highly offensive first set. The Lady Patriots maintained a narrow edge until the Rattlers tied the score at 10. Behind 10-12, St. Mary's took 5 consecutive points, but DBU responded with a 4-point stretch of its own. In a frame where both teams hit well over .300, Shaylee Shore's 7 kills led the Lady Patriots to take the set in deuce play.
 
The Rattlers began the second set with a three-point sprint, but DBU rebounded quickly with a 10-3 run and extended its lead to as many as 8, 19-11. The margin was narrowed to as few as four, but the Lady Patriots staved off a comeback while holding St. Mary's to an even hitting percentage.
 
DBU kept its stride going into set three. The Lady Patriots started frame with an 11-3 edge and did not let the difference shrink to smaller than 7 for the rest of the match. Baylor transfers AJ Koele and Emily Van Slate both accrued five kills in the third, while Shore earned two solo blocks to propel DBU to its 15th sweep of the season.

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- Saturday's victory is the Lady Patriots' 21st of the year. DBU is 3 shy of tying the program record for wins in a season set in 2008. There are two games remaining in the regular season.
- Shaylee Shore shined for the Lady Patriots, hitting .529 with 10 kills while tying her season-high of 4 solo blocks.
- Emily Van Slate's 10 kills are the most she has recorded in a match since September 17 at Cameron. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
.356 - DBU had a .356 team hitting percentage, its highest mark since October 15 against Texas Woman's.
3 - Lexy Pettitte garnered a career-high 3 aces in a match where the Lady Patriots amassed 7.
10 - AJ Koele, Shaylee Shore, and Emily Van Slate each slammed 10 or more kills.

JORDAN FISH ON THE LEADERSHIP FROM THE SENIORS
"I am so proud of our leadership and thought we played extremely well against a great St. Mary's team. This senior class is leaving a legacy, and I am so proud of this team!"
 
UP NEXT
DBU embarks on a road trip to close the regular season next weekend. The Lady Patriots will battle Angelo State on Friday in San Angelo and Texas Permian Basin on Saturday in Odessa.