CHICAGO – The Dominican University women’s volleyball team fought back to force a fifth set tonight at No. 16 University of Chicago, but it wouldn’t be enough as they fell 13-15 in the fifth to snap their 15-match win streak.  The loss puts the Stars at 23-5 overall, while their Northern Athletics Conference record remains a perfect 9-0.

Set one went in favor of the Stars after a 24-24 tie was broken by a Maroon service error, which was followed up by an ace off the hand of Becky Honerlaw (Waukesha, Wis./West).

The Stars would keep momentum in the second by scoring the first six points in the set, thanks to two more service aces, this time by Jess Guerrieri (Plainfield, Ill./North).  But host Chicago (24-3) answered back with an eight-point swing to take the lead they would never give up, tying the match at one set apiece.

The Stars struggled in set three, recording only six kills en route to a 12-25 final, putting the Maroons up 2-1 in the match.
But in the fourth, the Stars started things off with a kill by Becca Fritz (Mount Carroll, Ill/West Carroll) and never looked back as they led the entire way to the 25-22 fourth set victory.

In the fifth and deciding set, the Stars would find themselves down by as many as six (7-13) before their rally came up short for the 13-15 final.

Leading the way for the Stars offensively were Guerrieri with 34 assists, Jacy Lawrence (St. Louis, Mo./Villa Duchesne) with 15 kills, and Claire Dezelski (Northville, Mich./Ladywood) with 10.  Defensively, the Stars had two with double-digit digs - Liz Yakey (Sun Prairie, Wis.) with 17 and Lawrence with 10 to complete the double-double.

The Stars will look to rebound and remain undefeated in conference play this Friday, October 21, when they travel to Aurora University for a 7 p.m. match.