CHICAGO, Ill. - Chelsea Kirkpatrick led all hitters Sunday with 13 kills as DePaul picked up a 25-18, 20-25, 25-19, 25-18 victory over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville volleyball.

SIUE dropped to 10-10 with the loss. The Cougars now return home for a four-match homestand at the Vadalabene Center beginning Tuesday against Ohio Valley Conference rival Southeast Missouri State. Match time is 6 p.m.

"It was almost a repeat of last night," said SIUE Head Coach Todd Gober of Sunday's match. "We just have to shore up our hitting. We're not hitting smart."

Lexi Cibulka and Sydney Winslow were the top hitters for the Cougars with nine kills each. Libero Karie Downing led SIUE with four service aces and 25 digs.

"Karie probably had her best serving match of the season," said Gober.

DePaul's Kirkpatrick was one of two players with double-figure kills. She was joined by Kyndell Highland with 10 kills. The Blue Demons, now 2-19, finished with 13 blocks, including seven from Kate Letcher and four each from Kirkpatrick and Rachel Aumann.

Gober said too many unforced errors hurt the Cougars. He turned to the team's defense for a positive note. "I was happy with our defense. We just need to dominate more at the net," he added.

SIUE, which matched DePaul with 41 kills and finished with one more service ace, was held to a .037 hitting percentage.

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