THE RUNDOWN 
The Lady Patriots (2-1) achieved their second sweep of the year with a win over the Lady Tigers of Edward Waters (0-3) in their third game of the Hilltopper Classic on the campus of St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. DBU was in the driver's seat for most of the way, never trailing Edward Waters by more than three points. 

The first set came up all navy and red. After a 1-2 start, the Lady Patriots pulled ahead of the Lady Tigers and never looked back. Following the early deficit, DBU went on a 13-5 run before Edward Waters called a timeout to regroup. The Lady Patriots kept running after the timeout, responding with an 11-4 stretch to finish the set. AJ Koele was dominant at the net, hitting .889 with eight kills in the frame. Senior Lexy Pettitte also contributed to the Lady Patriots' rampage with a season-debut service ace.

DBU dropped the first point of set number two but came back to win 10 of the next 12. AJ Koele and Sadie Washburn headlined the stretch, earning three and two kills respectively and collaborating for an assisted block. The Lady Patriots took a 17-11 lead before the Lady Tigers pushed back to bring the set within a point, 20-19. After a timeout by Jordan Fish, DBU took the set on a 5-1 run. 

Unlike the first two sets, the third round was tight almost the whole way. Trailing Edward Waters 11-9, Emily Van Slate sparked the Lady Patriots with a kill, and Lauryn Burt kept the momentum by executing three consecutive service aces to put DBU ahead by four. After that, neither team scored more than two points in a row to finish the back-and-forth third set.  

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW 
- AJ Koele hit a season-high .361 from the floor. 
- For the first time this season, Leah Palensky led DBU with 12 digs. 
- Lauryn Burt hit a season-high five aces. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 
.500 - The Lady Patriots hit a blistering .500 in the first set. 
6 - Six Lady Patriots finished with at least four kills (Lauryn Burt, AJ Koele, Lindsey Otero, Abby Phillips, Emily Van Slate, and Sadie Washburn). 
16 - DBU had 16 service aces in the match, the most in a match in the last 10 years. 

UP NEXT 
DBU continues action on Saturday afternoon with a match against Barry University. First serve is scheduled for 4:30 pm. 
  Read Full Article