Box Score The Dominican University women's volleyball team had their 2013 season come to a close on Thursday night, falling in the first round of the NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship to the fifth-ranked Elmhurst College Bluejays in three sets (25-16, 25-17, 25-13).  The Stars finish the 2013 campaign with a 24-10 overall record, winning the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) Tournament to claim their third bid to the national tournament in the last four seasons.
 
"They passed unreal tonight," said Dominican University third-year head coach Ryan Baumgartner.  "They had three options 95-percent of the time and it's tough to stop a team that talented when they're in system.  Even with that, 48 digs in three sets, is an unbelievable stat line for us."
 
The Bluejays posted a .368 hitting percentage in the match, collecting 48 kills, led by Marci Novak's 14 kills, with just nine errors on 107 attempts.  On the opposite side of the net, Dominican tallied 30 kills on 110 swings with 16 errors for just a .127 hitting percentage.
 
Stars' standout Clair Dezelski (Northville, Mich.) knocked down a team-high ten kills to lead the Dominican offense.  In the process, Dezelski climbed into sole possession of second place on the Dominican University career kills list with 1,341 career kills.
 
"They are a very good blocking team," said Dezelski.  "They were ready and made it very hard for us to hit around them."
 
Dominican's offense was run through sophomore setter Christina Wilson (Homer Glen, Ill.) who doled out 25 assists.  Freshmen Tessa Griparis (Shorewood, Ill.) and Maddi Zanoni (Hudsonville, Mich.) logged six kills apiece.
 
"We have come a long way," said Dezelski.  "Our freshmen have been unbelievable at the end of the season.  They came in high schoolers and by the end of the season were getting the job done."
 
The loss snapped an 11-match winning streak for Dominican and is the third time the Stars have lost in the opening round of the NCAA Division III national tournament.