CHICAGO – The DePaul volleyball team hits the road for the final time this season, traveling to the east coast to take on BIG EAST conference opponents,
Pittsburgh and
West Virginia. The Blue Demons will face the Panthers on Saturday and the Mountaineers on Sunday. Both matches are slated to begin at 1:00 p.m. (CST)
The Blue Demons (4-19, 1-9 BIG EAST) enter the weekend after dropping matches to Cincinnati and No. 6 Louisville last weekend. DePaul is led by junior outside hitter Morgan Ingersoll, who averages a team high 3.00 kills per game in conference play. Against Louisville, Ingersoll registered 11 kills for a team high .308 attack percentage.
The Blue Demons will face Pittsburgh on Saturday for the first time in 12 years. The two teams last met during the 1993 season with the Panthers blanking DePaul 3-0. Pittsburgh has won seven of its last nine matches and hit a season high .338 against Seton Hall last Friday. The Panther offense is piloted by freshman setter Nicole Taurence, who averages 11.40 assists per game and totaled 52 assists in the Panther's 3-0 win over Seton Hall.
Sunday's meeting with the Mountaineers marks the first time the two teams have met since the 1989 season. The Blue Demons won the inaugural match 3-0 in Chicago. The Mountaineers (15-10, 2-8) will host No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday and enter the weekend on a one match win streak. West Virginia snapped its two-match conference slide with a 3-1 victory over Seton Hall last Sunday. Senior Julie Hockenson led the Mountaineers with 17 kills, hitting .343 on the day.
The Blue Demons return to the DePaul Athletic next weekend. The final BIG EAST weekend brings Rutgers and Villanova to Chicago for the first time in either teams history. On Sunday, November 13 the Blue Demons will celebrate Senior Day and honor outside hitter Mandy Moorberg and manager Kyle Sheehan.
