OBERLIN, Ohio - After surrendering the first set 24-26, Oberlin College volleyball couldn't find enough magic to rally back as the DePauw University Tigers walked away winners in straight sets, 24-26, 20-25, 10-25.

To open the first set, Sara Chang served up three straight points to earn the Yeowomen a quick 4-0 lead. The Tigers slowly clawed back into the match, knotting the first frame 12-12, half way through.

A handful of errors from the Tigers pushed the Yeowomen back in front, 19-14 in the later stages. DePauw stole the next three points before an Ave Spencer kill ended the Tigers run, but the group from Greencastle, Indiana refused to go quietly.  

With the Yeowomen ahead 20-1, the Tigers ripped off nine points while holding the Crimson and Gold to four points in the closing exchanges. A pair of kills from DePauw's Haley Bitzer and Suzanna Peters put away the first set.

Trailing by a set, the Yeowomen fought back hard in the early stages of the middle set. A kill by Jillian hostetler, a service ace by Emily Kelkar and a DePauw attack error put the Oberlin women on top, 3-0. The Tigers clawed back at the Oberlin advantage and the two sides traded points en route to knotting the game 15-15, when Dana Thomas and Lexi Mitchell teamed up for a block.

DePauw took the next four points, which proved too much of a deficit to overcome. The Yeowomen gave a valiant effort, but dropped the second set, 20-25. The third was all DePauw as the Tigers leapt out to a big 20-7 lead.

DePauw closed out the third, 25-10 to hand the Yeowomen their fourth defeat in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The stumble on Saturday moves Oberlin volleyball to 4-9 overall and 0-4 against league opponents.

The Yeowomen had to capitalize on DePauw's mistakes as Oberlin posted a hitting percentage of .035 as a unit. First-year Lexi Mitchell led the offensive threat with six kills followed by a trio of Yeowomen who registered five. Chang, Spencer and Hostetler each notched five kills against the Tigers.

Chang was active on the defensive end as well claiming seven digs as she led the Oberlin effort with 11 assists in the loss. Kelkar spearheaded the defensive effort with 11 digs.

The Yeowomen return to action on Wednesday, October 5 as they continue NCAC play at Allegheny College.

The opening serve is scheduled to go up at 7 p.m.