Volleyball Starts BIG EAST Play on the Road

at West Virginia
Friday, Sept. 21 | 6 p.m. (CST) 
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WVU Coliseum | Morgantown, West Virginia 

at Pittsburgh

Sunday, Sept. 23  | 1 p.m. (CST) 
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Fitzgerald Field House | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Match Notes

CHICAGO --  The DePaul volleyball team begins its third BIG EAST Conference campaign this weekend when it travels to West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  The Blue Demons clash with the Mountaineers on Friday at 6 p.m. (CST) and travel to Pittsburgh for a 1 p.m. match with the Panthers on Sunday.

The young Blue Demon squad (4-9)  is looking for its first conference win since Oct. 23, 2005 when the team defeated USF in Chicago.  With nine newcomers on the roster and only four student-athletes having played against a BIG EAST opponent the Blue Demons are looking to snap their 20 match conference loosing streak this weekend. 

The Blue Demons will have their work cut out for themselves as West Virginia (8-4) is off to one of the best starts in school history.  Since starting the season 6-1, the Mountaineers have cooled off and dropped three of their last five matches.  West Virginia and DePaul have met just three times, with the Mountaineers winning the last two, 3-0.  DePaul's only series win came in 1989, also a 3-0 victory.

Pittsburgh holds a 4-0 series advantage over the Blue Demons and won the first two conference matches, 3-0.  The Panthers (6-7) have won five of their last seven with both losses coming at the hands of ranked opponents.  Pittsburgh faces Notre Dame, who is receiving votes in the CSTV/AVCA Top 25 Poll, on Saturday.

DePaul freshman setter Christy Landschoot has piloted the Blue Demon offense to four wins this season and is making a name for herself as she ranks seventh in the league averaging 11.61 assists per game. Against Western Illinois on Sept. 18 the freshman dished out a season-high and BIG EAST single-match best  72 assists.

Blue Demon freshmen middle blockers, Jacie Fiedler and Kate Letcher have also made some noise in the conference with their efficient hitting percentages.  Fiedler's .682 (15-0-22) attack percentage against Duquesne on Sept. 15 is the second-best attack percentage by any BIG EAST player this season.  Letcher follows in the sixth spot with her .619 (14-1-21) hitting percentage against Northern Illinois on Sept. 5. Pittsburgh's Jessica Moses holds the conference's single match record with a .703 (12-0-17) percentage.

Freshman outside hitter Charla Drabant leads DePaul averaging 3.80 kills per game and is one of five players in the conference to register 28 or more kills in match.  Drabant has tallied 28 kills against both Northern Illinois and Western Illinois while Villanova's Alona Cherkez has a league best 31 kills in a match.   

The Blue Demons return to McGrath Arena, Sept. 29-30 when they host BIG EAST foes Villanova and Seton Hall.

Drabant Named Freshman 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 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.

Landschoot Dishes

Freshman setter Christy Landschoot dished out a season-high and BIG EAST single-match best  72 assists against Western Illinois on Sept. 18. The freshman ranks seventh in the BIG EAST averaging 11.61 assists per games. 

31.0 Points a new school record

DePaul freshman outside hitter Charla Drabant registered a school record 31.0 points in the Blue Demons' 3-2 win over Northern Illinois on Sept. 5.  Drabant's record breaking performance included 28 kills, two service aces and two block assists.  Current Blue Demon student assistant Morgan Ingersoll held the previous record of 28.0 points, a feat she recorded twice in 2006. 

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 Fuels Blue Demons at Chicagoland Classic

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.  Fiedler finished the weekend with a team-high .286 attack percentage with five total blocks and was named to the All-Tournament team.

Irish Tabbed as Preseason Favorites

Notre Dame was tabbed the BIG EAST Conference Volleyball favorite in the annual Preseason Coach’s Poll. St. John’s Hui Ping Huan and Louisville’s Tatyana Kolesnikova, were selected BIG EAST Preseason Co-Players of the Year and headlined the 2007 All-BIG EAST Preseason Team. Notre Dame received eight first-place votes, narrowly beating defending champion Louisville by one point. This is the second consecutive year the Irish have sat atop the preseason poll.

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