Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. - Katie Dennehy's career-high 24 kills helped lift the University of Delaware volleyball team to its seventh straight victory with an exciting 3-2 (18-25, 25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11) win over Hofstra during a Colonial Athletic Association bout on Friday evening at Viera Court.

Dennehy (above right) finished the match with an outstanding .353 hitting percentage and also tacked on two blocks. Her career-high kill total was one more than the number she posted earlier this season against North Carolina.

With her performance, Dennehy also became the 13th player in Delaware history to record 1,000 career kills. She is the first Blue Hen to reach that milestone since current teammate Kelly Gibson accomplished the feat on October 12, 2007.

Kim Stewart and Alissa Alker also reached double-digits in kills as Stewart fired 14, while Alker blasted 12. Steph Barry (bottom right) had an outstanding contest as well, posting a match-high 33 digs, marking her second 30-dig performance of the season.

After Hofstra (5-15, 1-3 CAA) took a two-sets-to-one lead, Delaware (11-5, 4-0) had no margin for error heading into the fourth frame. With their backs firmly planted against the wall, the Blue Hens refused to let down. The squad exploded out of the gate, taking 11 of the first 16 rallies highlighted by four blocks, including three from Paige Erickson.

Later, Kelly Gibson blasted an ace and Erickson came back to stuff another Pride attack attempt to give the squad a 14-7 lead. Slowly, Hofstra fought back. Buoyed by a 12-5 run, the visitors knotted the set at 19. With momentum on their side, the Pride kept the set tied until 21-21.

Needing to win the set to keep the match alive, Delaware came on at the end. Kills by Stewart and Dennehy, aided by a pair of Hofstra miscues, allowed the Hens to pull out a 25-22 victory and even the match at two.

Down to the fifth and final frame, Hofstra pulled out to a 3-1 lead before Delaware kicked it into high gear. Jess Chason stuffed a Pride attack and Gibson and Dennehy blasted kills to help the squad take a 6-4 lead heading into a Hofstra timeout. The break did nothing to cool off Dennehy as the junior standout unloaded three straight kills to give UD a comfy 9-4 lead.

With the set slowly slipping away, Hofstra answered. Four straight kills, including a pair by Monica Knight, pulled the Pride back within one. Fittingly, it was Dennehy who posted the response. She fired three kills in the span of four rallies to help give the squad a 13-9 lead. Then, she finished off the match with two more blows, including the final one that clinched the 15-11, come-from-behind victory.

Chason helped balance out the offensive attack, posting a match-high 56 assists. She also fired two aces and notched seven digs to round out a strong performance.

In the early portion of the match, Hofstra found a rhythm out of the chute. Following a 3-3 tie, the squad rolled to a 10-6 lead. Although Delaware fought back to tie the first set at 11 after a blistering ace by Chason and four Pride errors, the squad could never quite take control.

With the set still tied at 14, Hofstra swept the next four rallies and never let the hosts back into the game. Although Dennehy did her best to keep the squad close with a pair of blasts in the waning moments of the set, the Pride used a late run to post a 25-18 victory.

Feeling pressure from their first set defeat, the Blue Hens hit their stride in the second. After grabbing a slim 10-8 advantage, Delaware ran off seven straight winners, including two kills and a block by Alker, to pull away at 17-8.

Still leading by nine at 21-12, Delaware never lost its stride. Kills by Dennehy and Stewart helped the squad earn set point at 24-14, and after Hofstra stayed alive for one rally, Alker put the cap on the frame with a crushing blow to even the match at one.

Following a break in action, the two teams came out refreshed and evenly matched in the third. After Hofstra managed to hold a modest 15-12 lead, Delaware came back. Kills by Stewart and Dennehy, along with a pair of Hofstra errors, gave the hosts a 16-15 lead heading into a Pride timeout

Later, a kill by Erickson helped the Hens pull out to a two-point edge, but that was as far ahead as the squad could get. Eventually, despite a pair of Delaware timeouts, the momentum slowly shifted to the Pride side. Riding a nice wave, Hofstra capitalized on two kills from Monica Knight to squeak out a 25-23 victory.

Despite the late surge by the Pride that helped the squad put Delaware on the edge of defeat, the Hens remained unfazed. With an impressive performance in the final two sets, the squad quickly flipped its early troubles into an exciting five-set victory.

Gibson and Stewart helped highlight Delaware’s defensive efforts, posting 16 digs apiece. Alker, Erickson, and LaLonde also tallied four blocks each to help unnerve the Hofstra attack.

The Pride was led by Knight, who finished the match with 15 kills, 18 digs, and four blocks. Anissa Whitney also had 13 kills and a match-high eight blocks.

Delaware will return to action tomorrow at 12 noon when the squad hosts Northeastern at Viera Court. The contest will serve as a rematch of last year’s five-set CAA championship bout that eventually propelled the Hens into the NCAA Tournament.