Bowling Green Outlasts DePaul 3-1 in Weekend Finale

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – In search of their first win of the 2022 season, the Blue Demons could not reach their desired outcome falling 3-1 to Bowling Green on Saturday afternoon in the final match of the Falcon Invitational presented by Hampton Inn.

Set scores of the match were: 17-25, 25-23, 18-25, 21-25

DePaul’s offense could not find a rhythm on Saturday afternoon as the Blue Demon attackers hit just .068 on the match with 46 kills and 34 errors.

Taylor Underwood totaled a team-high 12 kills while Hannah Karl and Jill Pressley chipped in nine pieces. Pressly was named to the Falcon Invitational All-Tournament team after averaging 3.31 kills per set, 2.69 digs per set and 3.92 points per set across three matches.

sophomore middle blocker Aly Kindelberger maintain her strong presence at the net with seven kills and three blocks.
Maggie Jones tallied 28 assists and 11 digs while Rachel Krasowski collected a season-high 26 digs.

Bowling Green’s Kat Mandly paced the Falcons with 14 kills while Jessica Andrews chipped in eight kills and seven blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE: Bailey Nelson’s kill from the right side pulled DePaul within a pair of points at 12-10 before the Falcons pulled ahead to 15-11 at the media timeout. A 6-2 Bowling Green run widened the deficit to eight points and forced a Blue Demons timeout trailing 21-13. DePaul would win four of the next eight rallies, but it would not be enough as Bowling Green captured the first set 25-17.

SET TWO: Three consecutive kills from Underwood gave DePaul his first lead of the match at 9-8 in the early going of the second set. A pair of Falcon errors and a Pressly kill pushed the Blue Demons lead to three, 15-12. The Blue Demons kept the pressure on Bowling Green, expanding the lead to 20-13 behind a pair of blocks from Kindelberger. A 4-0 Bowling Green run cut DePaul’s advantage to four before Pressly’s sixth kill of the match silenced the run. The Falcons would not go away easily, embarking on a four-point run, but an Underwood kill clinched the set and evened the match for DePaul 1-1.

SET THREE: The third set saw the teams trade points in the early going. The Falcons moved ahead by a pair of points on a Mandly kill and Blue Demon hitting error to reach 15-13 at the half break. Out of the timeout, Bowling Green added on three more points to open their largest lead of the set, 18-13. Bowling Green went on to take the set 25-18 and take a 2-1 lead on the match.

SET FOUR: A pair of Pressly kills looked to create separation for DePaul in the fourth set with a 10-7 advantage. Bowling Green strung together three consecutive points off a kill and two Blue Demon attack errors to knot the set at 16 points apiece. The two sides jockeyed for the lead in the late stages of the set with the Blue Demons pulling ahead 20-19 on a Bowling Green attack error before the Falcons surged ahead 22-20 on a 3-0 run and later claimed the set 25- 21 and the match 3-1.

UpNext: The Blue Demons return to Chicago to open the home portion of the 2022 slate with the DePaul Invitational, Sept. 9-10. McGrath-Phillips Arena will play host to six games over two days with DePaul welcoming Eastern Michigan, Saint Louis and Virginia Tech to Lincoln Park.

UpNext: The Blue Demons return to Chicago to open the home portion of the 2022 slate with the DePaul Invitational, Sept. 9-10. McGrath-Phillips Arena will play host to six games over two days with DePaul welcoming Eastern Michigan, Saint Louis and Virginia Tech to Lincoln Park.