THE RUNDOWN
DBU Volleyball swept No. 12 Colorado Mesa in the quarterfinals of the South Central Regional on Thursday night in Canyon, Texas. The win is the Lady Patriots' first-ever NCAA tournament victory.
 
It was a runaway opening set for DBU (24-7, 14-2). The Lady Patriots jumped to a quick 8-2 lead. CMU (24-5, 12-2) narrowed the gap to four, 11-7, but the tide turned back to DBU in a hurry, as the Lady Patriots finished the first on a 14-3 run to go up 1-0 in the set count.
 
The Mavericks controlled the majority of frame two. After falling behind, 5-9, DBU nearly evened the score, 9-10, but CMU kept ahead, fending another surge by the Lady Patriots, who came with one point again at 14-15. The Mavericks were positioned to even the set totals with the score in their favor, 21-18, but a 7-1 run capped off by set-closing back-to-back aces from Sadie Washburn completed a late comeback by DBU, 25-22.
 
Eyeing a straight-sets win, the Lady Patriots rushed to the finish line. Karly Wells claimed three of the first four kills of DBU's third, pushing the Lady Patriots to an 11-4 start. After Jordan Fish called timeout at 11-7, DBU took five consecutive rallies and maintained command until they finished the sweep, 25-15.
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- In addition to the match being their first NCAA tournament victory, it is the Lady Patriots' first time defeating Colorado Mesa.
- DBU held the Mavericks below .050 hitting in two of the three sets while hitting above .440 in each frame.
- Abby Phillips smashed a season-high eight kills alongside Sadie Washburn and Karly Wells, who also finished two shy of 10. Delaney Fuller joined them as the four Lady Patriots who registered at least eight kills.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
475 - With a match-high 13 kills on Thursday, Delaney Fuller surpassed Lauren Secord for the most kills in a season in the history of DBU Volleyball. Fuller now has 475 kills on the year.
.481 - The Lady Patriots hit a season-high .481 against CMU, the program's best hitting percentage mark in a match as far back as historical data goes (2013).
24 - DBU has now won 24 matches, the program's second-highest win total in a year. The Lady Patriots need one more win to tie 2022's pacesetting 25 victories.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE WITH JORDAN FISH, DELANEY FULLER, AND SADIE WASHBURN

 
UP NEXT
DBU duels No. 5 West Texas A&M, the top seed of the South Central Regional, for the third time this season in the semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
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