In a back-and-forth five-game match between NIU and DePaul, a pair of freshman stole the spotlight on Victor E. Court.

DePaul outside hitter Charla Drabandt and NIU outside hitter Dani D’Ambrose each had career games, but ultimately it was Drabandt’s Blue Demons who came out on top as the Huskies fell 28-30 30-26, 32-34, 30-22,
9-15.

Drabandt had 28 kills while D’Ambrose went for 21 in four games while hitting for a .422 clip.

“Dani did a good job handling things,” NIU coach Ray Gooden said. “We just played tight but I have to give credit to DePaul.”

The win is the first for the Blue-Demons (1-5), who went on an 8-1 run in the final game to put them ahead.

Perhaps it was payback to NIU (1-5) who used a 9-1 run in the fourth game to send the match into a fifth game.

“We had spurts of playing good like in game four,” D’Ambrose said. “We just had to be in better control.”

Senior Laura Baetzel led the Huskies with 26 kills while junior Irene Johnson chipped in with 15.

Former Blue-Demon, turned Huskie, Mandi Caputo played a solid all-around game racking up 65 assists and a game-high 23 kills.

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