THE RUNDOWN
After 11 games away from home, the Lady Patriots made their 2023 home debut and opened conference play by defeating defending national champions No. 3 West Texas A&M in a five-set thriller on Friday night in The Burg Center. The victory was DBU's first win over WT in program history.
 
After splitting the first two sets, the score continued to stay practically knotted in the early goings of the third. Tied at nine, the Lady Buffs took four-point leads at 14-10 and 18-14. The Lady Patriots came back to tie the game at 20 and went ahead 23-21 in the pivotal set. WT called a timeout, which sparked a 7-2 run for the Lady Buffs that gave them frame three, 28-26, and the 2-1 set count advantage.
 
It seemed like more of the same in the fourth as DBU fought for a 16-13 lead, but WT evened the score at 17. The Lady Patriots jumped in front 20-18, and the Lady Buffs answered with a 6-1 stretch to force match point, 24-21. With the match on the line, DBU rallied to deuce play for the second consecutive set and claimed the set by winning three of the next four points.
 
The Lady Patriots sprinted to a 5-2 lead in the deciding set. WT called a timeout to stop the momentum, but after giving up the next rally, DBU swiped another four in a row. Down 9-3, the Lady Buffs clawed their way back into the game with an 8-4 stint, narrowing the margin to 13-11. A subsequent Delaney Fuller kill gave the Lady Patriots a shot at the match, but they dropped the next point, 14-12. On her first swing of the set, Price Reeves delivered the final blow to knock down the defending national champions in a grueling five sets. 
 
THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Lady Patriots improved to 2-1 in five-set matches this season.
- DBU evened the season series with West Texas A&M, 1-1
- Karly Wells set season-highs in kills (16) and points (16).
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
47 - Delaney Fuller and Karly Wells amassed 47 kills on a combined .319 hitting percentage.
34 - Aryn Walton set a new career-high in assists with 34.
.200 - The Lady Patriots held the Lady Buffs to a hitting percentage of less than .200 in both of the last two sets.
 
HEAD COACH JORDAN FISH AND OUTSIDE HITTER DELANEY FULLER ON THE WIN

 
UP NEXT
DBU returns to action tomorrow afternoon with a 2:00 p.m. match against Cameron at The Burg Center. Read Full Article