CHICAGO- The Blue Demons will hit the road this weekend, traveling to Marquette and Syracuse for BIG EAST volleyball action. DePaul will be in Milwaukee on Friday night for a 7:00 p.m. match and in Syracuse, New York for a 2:00 p.m. (CST) match on Sunday.
The Blue Demons enter Friday's match after dropping a 3-2 thriller to Bradley on Tuesday. DePaul received a big offensive push from junior middle blocker Ellen Hayes against Bradley. The junior recorder her second .500 plus attack percentage match of the season, finishing with 17 kills and a .583 hitting percentage. Redshirt freshman, Mandi Caputo has guided the Blue Demon offense, averaging 12.00 assists per game; the third most in the BIG EAST. Against Bradley, Caputo dished out 68 assists.
DePaul will travel to a familiar gym on Friday, taking on former Conference USA opponent Marquette. The two teams have met 39 times, the most total contests in Blue Demon volleyball history. DePaul holds the series advantage, 24-15, but the Golden Eagles have won the last four contests.
Marquette (7-6, 1-1 BIG EAST) spilt last weekend's conference opener, dropping a 3-2 match to Georgetown after blanking USF, 3-0. Preseason All Big East, Theresa Coughlin leads the Golden Eagles with 221 kills and was the 2005 inaugural Big East Player of the Week.
On Sunday, the Blue Demons will take on the Orange (10-5, 2-0 BIG EAST) for only the second time in either school's history. The series is even between the teams, with DePaul victorious in 1990 and Syracuse in 1989. Syracuse is has won three of their last four matches and will host No. 10 Notre Dame on Friday. The Orange are led by Kelly Duan, who is averaging 4.21 kills per game and has 29 aces on the season.
The Blue Demons will travel to Connecticut and St. John's next weekend for a pair of BIG EAST matches. DePaul returns home, Wednesday October 12, to host non conference opponent UW-Milwaukee.
