MEADVILLE, Pa. - Visiting DePauw University remained undefeated in North Coast Athletic Conference play after a 3-0 sweep of the Gators on Senior Day at the David V. Wise Center.

The Tigers (13-5, 4-0 NCAC) topped the Gators (11-9, 0-3 NCAC) with set scores of 25-12, 29-27, and 25-13.

After Allegheny's senior class of Hannah Cubarney, Leah Franzluebbers, Kylee Karczewski, Justine Kelly, Terra Schall, and Karissa Welker were recognized in a pre-game ceremony, the Gators opened the first set by answering the Tigers point for point through a 3-3 tie.  DePauw quickly regrouped, and rattled off eight straight points to open up a 13-3 lead.  After an Alysha Crowther kill temporarily halted the Tiger run, the visitors answered back with five of the next six points to increase the lead to 18-5, which would eventually stretch to 23-9.  An ace from Kelly and a kill by Franzluebbers temporarily staved off set point for DePauw, but the Tigers would close the set immediately following Franzluebbers' put down.

The Gators shrugged off the opening set loss by putting together a strong start to set number two.  The senior trio of Franzluebbers, Welker, and Cubarney each recorded early kills to push Allegheny to a 7-3 lead.  After a time out, DePauw answered back to tie the match at 9-all, and the squads would then trade points over the next several rallies.  A pair of errors gave Allegheny a 13-11 advantage, before the tide went back to DePauw, which pulled ahead 14-13.  Another kill from Welker tied the set at 14 and kickstarted an quick Allegheny rally, capped off with a Grace Lengauer kill that put the hosts back in front 18-15.  After two more kills from Lengauer, Franzluebbers and Kelly teamed up for a block, before an emphatic Franzluebbers spike gave the Gators their largest lead of the set, 23-18.  The see-saw then went in favor of the Tigers, who would score six of the next seven points to tie the score at 24.   DePauw would grab a one-point lead and face set point on three different occasions, but the Gators answered back, with Welker recording two more kills to forge a 27-27 tie.  Allegheny was unable to close it out, however, as the Tigers recorded the final two points of the set to win 29-27 and take a commanding 2-0 lead.

The third set was a mirror image of the opener, as DePauw broke a 4-4 tie by posting nine straight points to open up a 13-4 advantage, and eventually stretched the margin to 16-5.  The Gators refused to go away and scored five straight points, including two kills from Rachel MacQuarrie and a block by Franzluebbers, to close the deficit to 16-10.  DePauw responded by scoring seven straight points to open up a 23-10 lead and quash the Gator comeback, eventually closing out a 25-13 win to seal the sweep.

Franzluebbers led Allegheny offensively, putting away 10 kills against just two errors, but as a whole, the Gator offensive unit struggled, finishing with 19 attack errors.  Welker added seven kills, while Lengauer totaled five.  Schall turned in another strong day on the back line with 24 digs, and was joined in double digits by Rachel Slotterback, who recorded 11 digs, and Karczewski, who finished with 10.  Franzluebbers had one solo block and assisted on two others, while Lengauer had one solo block and assisted on another.  Kelly, who served Allegheny's only ace of the afternoon, dished out 26 assists while adding eight digs.

Suzanne Peters led the way for DePauw with 15 kills and 15 digs, while Haley Bitzer had nine kills, Kaley Keating 17 digs, and Emily Beckes 11 digs and two aces, pacing a Tiger service game that totaled seven aces on the day.

The Gators will look to snap their two-match losing skid, and earn their first NCAC victory of the season, on Wednesday (Oct. 11) when they travel to Wooster for a 7 p.m. match.