Sept. 22, 2009

Box Score

LIVONIA, Mich. - In what would have been the biggest win in DU Volleyball history, the Panthers came up one set and four points short in a thrilling five set match against #9 Madonna. The host Crusaders prevailed as they won 25-10, 26-24, 14-25, 23-25, 15-11. DU will host Siena Heights on Thursday at 7:00 PM.

The first set was one to forget for the Panthers as they never got on track losing 25-10. The second set was a seesaw battle as DU pushed the ninth ranked team in the NAIA right down to the final points but after a block by Ashley Penny (New Hudson, Mich.) tied the score at 24-24, Madonna scored the final two points to take a 2-0 lead.

After being so close in the previous set, Davenport came out on fire in the third set and hit for an amazing .476 clip while holding the Crusaders to .000 to win 25-14. Kassie Graves (White Cloud, Mich.), Amy VanEns (Lowell, Mich.) and Penny collectively posted 10 kills with two errors on 14 attempts.

The fourth set started a little sloppy on both sides, but the Panthers managed to put together a 6-1 run midway through to pull away to lead 19-14. After watching Madonna crawl back into the set and tie the score at 23, DU got a huge kill from Ashley Penny and then a Madonna error to win and force the final set.

The first few points in the deciding set went back and forth until DU took their first lead at 7-6 when Joyce Larioza (Fowlerville, Mich.) put a kill down. Madonna then racked off the next four points and ultimately 8 of the match's final 11 points to win 15-11.

Kassie Graves, Ashley Penny and Amy VanEns led the offense with double digit kills as they tallied 15, 13 and 10 kills respectively. Kayla Vandermolen (Cedar Springs, Mich.) dished out 42 assists while Courtney DePriest (Grand Rapids, Mich.) anchored the defense with 19 digs.

The loss sends DU to 7-8 on the year as they are now 1-2 in WHAC play. The Panthers will host Siena Heights on Thursday at the Student Center beginning at 7:00 PM.