University of Delaware Athletics
University of Delaware
1-2
Northern Colorado
1-2
Blue Hens Conclude Play at UCF Invitational With Five-Set Loss To Northern Colorado
8/29/2015 7:39:00 PM | Volleyball
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ORLANDO, Fla. -- The University of Delaware volleyball team continued its early season stretch of thrilling matches, but the Blue Hens fell just short in the deciding set while dropping a 3-2 (22-25, 30-28, 25-21, 17-25, 15-12) decision to Northern Colorado Saturday afternoon at the UCF Invitational.
The Blue Hens, who fell to 1-2 on the season, played their third consecutive five-set match while concluding play at the tournament. Northern Colorado, the second consecutive UD opponent that qualified for the 2014 NCAA Tournament, improved to 1-2 on the year.
UD senior outside hitter Katie Hillman, who eclipsed the 1,000 kills mark on Friday, added 17 vs. the Bears against just three errors to hit .326 for the match. Hillman now has 1,024 kills for her career, moving into a tie for 16th place in school history. Junior Autumn Jenkins tied Hillman for the team lead with 17 kills, while classmate Alexa Swann chipped in with 13 kills and three blocks.
Julia Anderson dished out 38 assists and Erin Layne contributed 13 for the Blue Hens, while Ariel Shonk made 31 digs on the afternoon. Kendra Cunningham paced the Northern Colorado attack with 25 kills, while four Bears managed double figure digs.
Delaware led for a majority of the opening set before putting it away on a Daria Robinson kill, but Northern Colorado rallied to win the next two sets and take the lead. The Blue Hens never trailed in the fourth stanza, and closed the set by winning eight of the final 11 points to send the match to a fifth set.
The Bears took the first three points of the deciding frame, but UD battled back and eventually took an 8-7 advantage. However Northern Colorado captured the next three points and would not relinquish the lead from there, putting the match away on a kill from Kortney Lockey.
Bonnie KennyDelaware returns to action next weekend at the N.C. State Tournament when the Blue Hens will face Jacksonville, Ole Miss and the host Wolfpack.
Match Notes:
• UD has opened the season with three straight five-set matches for the first time in school history
• The Blue Hens dropped to 0-2 against Northern Colorado, with the other meeting coming in 1979
• UD has surpassed the 60 kills mark in two of the first three matches this year
• Jenkins added 11 digs to record the seventh double-double of her career
• Hillman contributed seven digs and surpassed the 600 digs mark
• The Bears held an 11-4 block advantage
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact Kevin Tritt at: ktritt@udel.edu (email) / 302-831-8715 (office) / 302-383-5005 (cell)
