THE RUNDOWN

A Saturday afternoon spent in San Antonio bore a war between the Lady Patriots (11-5, 5-1) and St. Mary's (12-5, 4-2) that DBU would eventually win after five long sets (25-18, 25-21, 21- 25, 21-25, 15-8). This long-winded affair could be split into three segments as one squad seemingly dominated different chunks of the game. The Lady Pats controlled the first two sets, but in sets three and four, DBU never held a lead. The final set turned into the Delaney Fuller show as she guided her troops to a decisive set victory, slapping a bow on this DBU road trip.

The Lady Patriot offense posted 66 kills in this five-set contest, a 13.2 kill/set average. While the offense wasn't as dominant as they would've liked to have been, the DBU defense showed up and showed out against the St. Mary's attack. Both teams totaled 12 blocks on the afternoon, but DBU would total 19 more digs than the Lady Rattlers (85-66). Libero Daylee Doggett posted 28, just three high of her season-high total of 31. Carmen Harless notched 16 of her own coming off the bench, which is both a season and career-high total for the freshman. Delaney Fuller posted 17, to go along with her team-leading 24 kills.

The Lady Patriots have posted nine service aces in consecutive games. Setter Aryn Walton and Delaney Fuller led the way with three, followed closely by Shaylee Shore's two. Fuller's name was written all over this contest, and DBU desperately needed her and Walton's veteran prowess to pull off today's victory. Aryn posted 55 assists in this match, just three short of her season-high total of 58. Walton would also assist on five of DBU's 12 blocks. Lindsey Otero led the team with six block assists, contributing on half of the DBU stuffings. 

The Lady Patriots will do battle with West Texas A&M (13-3, 6-0) on Friday night from The Burg Center. WTAMU is riding a seven-game winning streak and holds the top spot in the Lone Star Conference standings. This heavyweight scrap will have massive implications on the shape of the LSC ranks. 

THREE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

DBU is now 27-11 against St. Mary's all-time.

The Lady Patriots have now won five consecutive matches against the Lady Rattlers.

DBU out-killed St. Mary's by (66-59) while being out-attacked (165-178).

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

+10 - DBU's set point differential through this afternoon's grueling contest.

.174 - St. Mary's Hit% to go along with their 28 attack errors.

111 - Combined attack attempts for Karly Wells and Delaney Fuller.

UP NEXT

The Lady Patriots will return home next weekend to host West Texas A&M (13-3, 6-0) and Eastern New Mexico (3-14, 0-6).