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Posted by Patrick Moore - Volleyball - Fri, Sep 3, 2010
Evia Prieditis
Evia Prieditis
Site: Daytona Beach, Fla. (ICI Center)
Event: ERAU Labor Day Tournament Presented by the National Guard
Score: Oklahoma Baptist 3, Madonna University 1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 25-22)
Records: MU 3-2; OBU 3-3
Next MU event: Friday, September 3 - at Embry-Riddle - ERAU Labor Day Tournament (Daytona Beach, Fla.), 7pm

BOX SCORE

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (MadonnaCrusaders.com) - - A ferocious block and poor hitting was too much to overcome as the No. 21-ranked Madonna University volleyball team fell 3-1 (20-25, 25-19, 18-25, 22-25) to Oklahoma Baptist on Friday (Sept. 3) in MU's opener at the ERAU Labor Day Tournament, presented by the National Guard inside the ICI Center.

The loss - MU's second straight set back - is the Crusaders (3-2) first to an unranked team since falling to Aquinas on Oct. 27, 2009.

OBU (3-3) jumped out to a 4-0 lead in set one and with the exception of a tie at 6-6, kept the lead, winning 25-20. MU committed 12 hitting errors against just nine kills for a -.088 attack percentage.

Set two saw MU connect at its best percentage of the match - .154 - as the Crusaders recorded a match-best 16 kills, led by six from senior Liz Dempsey (Westland, Mich. / Franklin) and four from junior Karie Altman (Taylor, Mich. / St. Frances Cabrini). MU led from start to finish, building out as much as a six point lead at 17-11 before cruising to the 25-19 win.

With the match tied at one set each, the two sides battled back and forth early in set three but the Bison took the lead at 7-6 on a service ace and after going up by eight at 17-9, never let the Crusaders get closer than four the rest of the way in taking set three 25-18 for a 2-1 lead in the match.

The final set of the match was all OBU early as the Bison jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks in part to a pair of service aces before Head Coach Jerry Abraham called a time out to stem the tide. The break worked as MU sided out on an Altman kill - one of her five in the set - but the momentum was short lived as OBU went back up by six at 13-7. The Crusaders clawed back into the set thanks to a pair of kills from freshman Evia Prieditis (Milford, Mich. / Milford) and another kill and block from Altman to go along with four Bison errors to trail by one at 16-15. The one point deficit was as close as MU could get for the remainder of the match as OBU pushed the lead back up to three at 18-15 and won 25-22 to upset the Crusaders.

Dempsey posted a double-double with her team-high 13 kills to go along with 13 digs. Junior Megan Fricke (Wyandotte, Mich. / Roosevelt) added 11 kills and 14 digs for a double-double of her own while Altman posted 10 kills, five block assists and a solo block. Prieditis handed out 35 assists and picked up 12 digs while junior Amanda Koszela (Dearborn, Mich. / Dearborn) led MU with 27 digs.

The Crusaders look to snap their losing streak later tonight, taking on the host Embry-Riddle at 7pm. MadonnaCrusaders.com will have a live blog for the match.

Contact: Patrick Moore (734) 432-5834