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Center Valley, PA (October 12, 2011) – In what was the biggest match of the season up till this point for the DeSales University volleyball team, the Bulldogs lone senior, Lauren Hickey, led the way recording a match-high 18 kills leading DSU to a 3-1 (25-21, 19-25, 25-22, 25-21) win over Freedom Conference rival FDU-Florham on Wednesday night in Billera Hall.

DSU's (24-3, 5-0 Freedom) win is its fifth straight and give head coach Michele Zabinski a personal best for wins in a season, surpassing the 23 she led the Bulldogs to in 2009.  The loss drops the Devils to 21-7 overall and 3-2 in the Freedom Conference.

The first two sets saw DeSales get out of the gates quickly in the first set to record the win and the Devils counter in set #2 for a 25-19 win.  The third set was tight throughout and was tied at 20 but two quick points including a kill from Hickey and a service ace from freshman Amanda Wallitsch made it 22-20 before four straight side outs set up set point in which junior Paige Horrigan put down the decisive point to give DSU a 2-1 set lead.

In the fourth set, FDU came out strong opening up a 7-1 lead and continued to lead 18-11 before DeSales rallied.  A Devil service errors seemed to switch the momentum as the Bulldogs ran off four straight points on junior Justine McNulty's serve including two kills by sophomore Haley Petrarca.  A quick side out saw sophomore Madeline Svrcek serve two straight points before another quick side out was met with junior Eden Reichard serving two straight points as DSU climbed all the way back to take a 22-20 lead.

Another quick side out by the Bulldogs set up sophomore Emilie Baker with the serve and a 23-21 lead.  After a block assist from Hickey and freshman Chrissy Banos, Hickey finished it off with her 18th kill of the match as DSU came all the way back from down 18-11 to win the fourth set, 25-21.

Hickey finished with 18 kills, just three errors, and a .326 hitting percentage to go along with three blocks.  Petrarca and Horrigan each had 11 kills with Horrigan hitting .360.  Horrigan along with Banos were terrific in the middle with five blocks each, while Petrarca added four blocks.

McNulty did another masterful job running the offense with 40 assists and added 10 digs.  Reichard and Wallitsch spearheaded another strong defensive effort with 20 and 16 digs respectively, while Svrcek added 13 digs and Baker totaled 10 digs, two aces, and two blocks.

The Bulldogs get a well-deserved six days off before returning to action when they host Delaware Valley College in another important Freedom Conference match beginning at 7:00 pm.  A win over the Aggies assures DSU of hosting at least one Freedom Conference playoff game.