Volleyball Hosts USF and Georgetown This Weekend
11/2/2007 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
vs. USF
Saturday, Nov. 3 | 1 p.m.
McGrath Arena | Chicago Ill.
Live Stats
vs. Georgetown
Sunday, Nov. 4 | 2 p.m.
McGrath Arena | Chicago, Ill.
Live Stats
Match Notes
CHICAGO The DePaul volleyball team welcomes USF and Georgetown to McGrath Arena for a pair of BIG EAST Conference matches this weekend. The Blue Demons and Bulls clash at 1 p.m. (CST) on Saturday, while the Hoyas are scheduled to for a 2 p.m. match on Sunday.
DePaul (6-18, 1-9) is looking for a much needed win as the squad has dropped its last five conference matches and was just 2-5 in the month of October. However, both the Blue Demon wins came in Lincoln Park as they defeated Rutgers on Oct. 7 and Chicago State on Oct. 23.
The Blue Demons have been led all season by their freshmen starters setter Christy Landschoot, middle blockers Jacie Fiedler and Kate Letcher and outside hitter Charla Drabant.
Landschoot ranks seventh amongst the BIG EAST setters averaging 11.22 assists per game and finds her favorite targets in Drabant and Fiedler, who average over three kills per game. Drabant averages a team-best 3.45 kills per game, while Fiedler boasts a team-best .299 attack percentage. Defensively, Letcher leads DePaul at the net with 55 total blocks.
DePaul will be forced to find the holes in the USF defense on Saturday as the Bulls lead the league by holding their opponent to a mere .158 attack percentage. Defensively, USF averages 3.17 blocks per game which is the second best average in the conference behind Louisville, who averages 4.12. Offensively, Marcela Gurgel paces the Bulls 4.25 kills per game and a .232 hitting percentage.
The Blue Demons and USF are long-time conference rivals as they both moved from Conference USA to the BIG EAST in 2005. The Bulls (15-7, 6-4) hold a 10-5 series advantage; but the teams have split the last two meetings, each winning on their home floor the last two years.
Georgetown (5-22, 1-10) visits Lincoln Park on Sunday, after dropping a 3-0 match at Notre Dame on Friday. The Hoyas are 2-13 in their last 15 matches and picked up a 3-2 victory over Pittsburgh during that stretch. Dana Dumas leads Georgetown with 237 kills and is third on the squad with 187 digs.
The Hoyas lead the overall series with DePaul 4-2 and have won the last four matches.
The Blue Demons close out the regular season at home with BIG EAST matches against Louisville and Cincinnati next weekend.
BIG EAST Win
The Blue Demons 3-0 sweep over Rutgers on Oct. 7, snapped a 24 conference match loosing streak. Previous to the win, DePaul had not won a BIG EAST game since the 2005 season, when the Blue Demons defeated USF, 3-2 on October 23. In DePaul’s 3-0 sweep of Rutgers no starter recorded a hitting percentage below .285. Sophomore Sarah Cullen and Drabant both finished with double-doubles. Cullen tallied 10 kills and paced the floor with 22 digs, while Drabant added 12 digs to her 21 kills for her seventh double-double of the season.
Letcher in the Record Books
Letcher tallied a school record .833 attack percentage on Sept. 30 against Seton Hall. Letcher’s record breaking performance came on 10 kills on 12 swings with no attack errors to break Dana Kalvatis’ 22-year-old record. Kalvatis set the previous record of .818 against Cleveland State on November 9, 1985.
Fiedler Finishes with 30
Freshman middle blocker Jacie Fiedler became the first DePaul player in seven years to tally 30 kills. Fiedler’s 30 kills came in the Blue Demons 3-2 loss at West Virginia on Sept. 21. At the time, she became just the second BIG EAST player this season to reach the 30 kill mark. Fiedler’s remarkable numbers came on 54 swings for a sizzling .500 attack percentage. With 30 kills, two service aces, four block assists and one solo block Fiedler also set a new school record for points in a match with 35.0. The previous record was 31.0 points which was set by freshman outside hitter Charla Drabant on Sept. 5 at Northern Illinois.
Drabant Named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Freshman outside hitter Charla Drabant became the first DePaul player to earn the BIG EAST Conference’s Freshman of the Week honors on Sept. 10. Drabant started out the week by posting a DePaul record for points in a match; registering 31.0 points in DePaul’s 3-2 victory over Northern Illinois on Sept. 5. Drabant’s 31.0 points came on 28 kills, two service aces and a pair of block assists. She finished out the week strong, and earned All-Tournament status at the DePaul Invitational. For the tournament, the freshman averaged a team-high 3.82 kills and 3.73 digs per game.
Fiedler feeds at Falcon Invite
Freshman middle blocker Jacie Fiedler led the Blue Demons at the Falcon Best Western Invitational Sept. 14-15. The freshman tallied 30 of the team’s 106 kills and averaged 3.33 kills per game. Fiedler registered a .353 attack percentage in DePaul’s losses to Bowling Green, Valparaiso and Duquesne.
DePaul Invitational Champions
The Blue Demons took home the DePaul Invitational title with wins over Samford, Kennesaw State and South Alabama. Freshmen, Charla Drabant, Kate Letcher, Jacie Fiedler were named t the All-Tournament team, while freshman setter Christy Landschoot was named the Invitational’s Most Valuable Player.
Mile High Drabant
Freshman outside hitter Charla Drabant was named to the Denver Invitational All-Tournament team after leading the Blue Demons with 33 kills and 23 digs during the tournament. Drabant registered her second 14 kill performance of the season against Denver and also recorded a season-high 17 digs that match. Drabant rounded out her all-tournament performance with three assists, a service aces and three total blocks.
Fiedler a Classic at Chicagoland
The Blue Demons opened the season at the Chicagoland Classic and fell to Illinois-Chicago 3-1 and Loyola-Chicago 3-0. Freshmen middle blockers Jacie Fiedler and Kate Letcher led the Blue Demon offense with 23 and 25 kills, respectively. Freshman outside hitter Charla Drabant finished the weekend with 19 kills and two service aces to round out the extraordinary play of the young Blue Demon team. Fielder finished the weekend with a team-high .286 attack percentage with five total blocks and was named to the All-Tournament team.