Match Notes
Alabama A&M Live Stats
Murray State Live Stats
CHICAGO – The DePaul volleyball wraps up the tournament portion of its schedule this weekend, traveling to Memphis, Tennessee for the Memphis Invitational. The Blue Demons face Alabama A&M and Central Arkansas on Friday at 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., respectively. The squad closes out the tournament on Saturday with matches against Murray State at 11:30 a.m. and host and former Conference USA rival Memphis at 7:00 p.m.
Entering the tournament the Blue Demons are ranked fourth in the nation in digs per game. DePaul is averaging 21.03 digs per game behind UNLV, Chattanooga, and tournament foe Murray State. Last weekend against Butler, DePaul registered a season-high 105 digs and had six players finish with double-digit dig totals. Senior Ellen Hayes leads the Blue Demon's defense with 134 digs this season and is averaging 4.47 DPG which is the fifth most in the BIG EAST Conference. Sophomore Maureen Zigulich and freshman Sarah Cullen are also averaging 4.00 digs per game or more.
Tournament Facts on File
Alabama A&M (Friday, 9/15 - 9:00 a.m.)
Record: 0-4, 0-0 SWAC
Head Coach: Betty Austin (29th Season)
Series: First meeting
Alabama A&M is looking for its first win of the season this weekend after falling to Kansas, Alabama, Miami and Tennessee State in the opening weeks of play. Senior Krystal Ward leads the Bulldogs with 12 kills and 26 digs.
Central Arkansas (Friday, 9/15 – 4:30 p.m.)
Record: 6-4, 0-0 Southland Conference
Head Coach: Steven McRoberts (2nd Season)
Series: First Meeting
Central Arkansas has won six of its last seven matches coming into the tournament and are 5-2 when playing at a neutral site. Evaree Franklin leads the offense, averaging 3.31 kills per game and a .189 attack percentage. The Sugar Bears average 2.17 blocks per game. Camila Scapini and Tristen McNeal lead the charge at the net, averaging 0.92 blocks per game.
Murray State (Saturday, 9/16 – 11:30 a.m.)
Record: 5-1, 0-0 Ohio Valley
Head Coach: David Schwepker (9th season)
Series: DePaul leads 1-0
Last Meeting: 10/26/91: DePaul won 3-1
The Racers are off to their best six match start in 24 years and captured the Kent State Invitational Crown last weekend, defeating North Carolina State, Chicago State and Kent State. Murray State has displayed exceptional defensive skills and are ranked third in the country in digs per game (21.32 DPG). Heather Norris and Cassie Chesney lead the Racer defense averaging 5.54 and 4.25 digs per game, respectively
Memphis (Saturday, 9/16 – 7:00 p.m.)
Record: 9-1, 0-0 Conference USA
Head Coach: Carrie Yerty (11th season)
Series: Memphis leads 12-4
Last Meeting: 11/19/04: Memphis won 3-0
Memphis (9-1) is off their its best start since 2003. The Tigers are hitting a blistering .306 as a team and average 16.2 kills per game. Junior middle Shelby Burton is ranked fourth in the country with a .502 attack percentage and has amassed 153 kills in 34 games this season.
BIG EAST Preseason Poll
Notre Dame was selected by the league’s head coaches to win the 2006 BIG EAST Conference volleyball regular season crown. The Irish return three starters from last year’s BIG EAST Championship squad that posted a record of 30-4 and enter the preseason ranked 21 in the College Sports Television/American Volleyball Coaches Association (CSTV/AVCA) preseason poll.
BIG EAST Championship
The University of Cincinnati will play host to the 2006 BIG EAST Championship at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The top eight teams, according to league records, will participate in a single-elimination tournament to be held Nov. 17-19.
