CHICAGO- The DePaul volleyball team will face Eastern Illinois in Charleston on Wednesday. The Panthers and Blue Demons will tangle at 7:00 p.m. in the Lantz Arena.
Wednesday's match is a late addition to both teams schedules as the Blue Demons and Panthers both experienced match cancellations due to Hurricane Katrina. DePaul was to play North Carolina State, Tulane and tourney host University of New Orleans last weekend while Eastern was to play in tournament in the Big Easy over Labor Day weekend.
The Blue Demons enter the match on a two match win streak, defeating state of Illinois rivals, Loyola 3-1 (30-26, 27-30, 30-24,30-23) and Western Illinois 3-2 (30-25, 27-30, 28-30, 30-26, 17-15) earlier this month. The last two matches have seen junior Ellen Hayes and senior Mandy Moorberg anchor the offense. Hayes leads the Blue Demons with a .340 attack percentage while Moorberg is averaging 4.22 kills per game during the streak.
The Panthers' last two matches have also been against Illinois rivals, falling to Illinois 3-2 (27-30, 30-19, 30-27, 30-27, 15-9), before blanking Illinois-Chicago 3-0 (30-27, 30-23, 30-28) the next day. Eastern is led by senior middle blocker Megan Kennedy, who is averaging 3.08 kills and .80 blocks per game.
This is the 22nd time the Blue Demons and Panthers have met and Eastern holds the series advantage 16-5. Last season the two teams tangled at the Blue Demon Invitational and the Panthers won the contest, 3-0.
