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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport battled tough but was unable to pull off the upset against #RV Cornerstone falling in four sets on senior night. After dropping the first set, Davenport battled back to take the second set 25-21. Cornerstone took the last two sets to close out the match. Davenport will begin the WHAC Tournament on Friday hosted by Aquinas.

Cornerstone came out firing in the first set. Leading the Panthers 4-5 early in the first set, the Golden Eagles went on an 8-3 run to push the Panthers deficit to six. The teams exchanged points over the next several but Davenport wasn't able to cut the deficit to less than five. Cornerstone ended the set on a run to take the first set 25-15.

The Panthers seized all the momentum early in the second set taking a quick 9-2 lead. Cornerstone slowly chipped away at the Davenport lead and closed it to as few as two at 22-20.  Then a Cornerstone serving error and back-to-back kills by Kassie Graves and Nicole Chase gave DU the second set.

The teams went back and forth for the early part of the third set. Davenport jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Golden Eagles rallied off five straight to take the lead. Davenport responded with their own run to take an 8-6 lead. Late in the set, Davenport trailed 15-17 before the Golden Eagles went on a 8-1 run to close out the third set.

Just as they did in the second set, Davenport responded well after dropping a set and rushed out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth. However, Cornerstone would come back to tie the set at ten. The teams exchanged points until the game was deadlocked at 22-22.  After a couple attack errors by Davenport, Cornerstone was able to put away the match with a kill.

Brittany Bott led the Panthers with 14 kills. Kelse Moon and senior Jenn Brunink each added nine kills for Davenport. Senior Courtney DePriest had 24 digs to lead the team while fellow senior Heather Deal had a team high two aces.

Davenport will compete in the WHAC Tournament on Friday and Saturday. The tournament will be hosted by Aquinas. The seeds and match times have not been released. Stay tuned to dupanthers.com for more information.

Post-Game Quotes – Head Coach Megan Garner

On overall intensity of match and regrouping to take second set – “It was a really great atmosphere tonight. We definitely showed some nerves with ball control and fell behind in that first set. I was really proud of how the girls bounced back in the second set and how they were aggressive on offense and which is what we needed.”

Talk about your seniors and what they have meant to your team – “They have just been a great group to have in this program. Tonight it was evident in the effort and intensity they bring. Their leadership by example has been key. Jenn Brunink has been on fire the second part of the season and it was awesome to see her let loose tonight. Courtney DePriest and Heather Deal, we will really miss their defense in the back row and hopefully they can just continue to finish this season strong.”

Post-Game Notes                              

Davenport's record stands at 21-14…Davenport falls to 3-12 all-time against Cornerstone…This was the Panthers first loss at home this season, going into tonight Davenport was a perfect 8-0 at home.

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