Volleyball Hosts Valparaiso Before Heading to Rutgers
11/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
CHICAGO The DePaul volleyball team hosts Valparaiso on Tuesday before hitting the road for a Friday match at Rutgers. The Blue Demons’ Election Night match with the Crusaders is slated to begin at 7 p.m., while Friday’s match in New Brunswick, N.J. is scheduled for a 6 p.m. (CST) start.
The Blue Demons have won three of their last seven matches and stand at 4-20 and 2-9 in league play. The squad holds a combined 20-13 all-time series advantage over Valparaiso and Rutgers. The Blue Demons are 18-11 all-time versus Valpo, while the Crusaders have won the last five meetings. Rutgers and DePaul sit in a stalemate, tied a two wins apiece. The Blue Demons won the 2007 match 3-0 in Lincoln Park.
Blue Demon Hits
Sarah Cullen has finished the last nine matches with double-digit kill totals while she has recorded double-digit kills in all but two matches this season ... Cullen has 16 double-doubles (kills-digs) this season and 24 in her career...Cullen averages 3.69 kills per set which is the second best average in the league... her 347 kills is the third most in the conference... Kate Letcher leads the Blue Demons and ranks fourth in the league with 0.43 aces per set... Jacie Fiedler has registered double-digit kill totals in 16 of the Blue Demons’ 24 matches; while she has finished 31 career matches in double-digit kill totals... Fiedler ranks sixth in the league with a season .325 (271-73-609) attack percentage.... Christy Landschoot ranks fifth in the league averaging 9.84 assists per set.
Shielding the Crusaders
Valparaiso (18-6, 9-4 Horizon League) has won 11 of its last 12 matches including the last seven... defeated Notre Dame, 3-1 on Aug. 31 and Louisville 3-2 on Sept. 5... leads the nation in assists (14.07) and kills per set (15.13)... Angie Porche 4.65 kps is the sixth most in the country... Brittany Malicoat averages 5.45 dps for the eighth highest average in the nation... Kim Bukowski dishes out 11.08 assists per game, the 19th best in the country... DePaul leads the all-time series with Valpo 18-11, but the Crusaders have won the last five matches.
Checking out the Scarlet Knights
Rutgers (2-18, 1-9 BIG EAST) earned its first league win with a 3-1 victory over West Virginia last weekend... Hannah Curtis ranks ninth in the BIG EAST with a .328 attack percentage during conference play... Caitlin Saxton leads the team with 188 kills... Curtis leads the team with 42 (5-37) totals blocks... Rutgers and DePaul are tied at two in the all-time series meeting.
Last Week
The Blue Demons played two five-set matches last week and split their effort. DePaul picked up a 3-2 victory over Marquette on Saturday, but fell to Syracuse on Sunday. Saturday’s win was the first over Marquette since 2001. For the week, Sarah Cullen recorded double-doubles in both matches while she paced the squad with 3.70 kps and 3.00 dps.
Looking a Week Ahead
The Blue Demons close out the regular season with three home matches. DePaul hosts a nonconference match with Bradley on Tuesday, Nov. 11 before Connecticut and St. John’s invade McGrath Arena. Friday’s match with the Huskies is slated for 7 p.m. while Senior Day will be celebrated on Sunday when the Red Storm come for a visit.
Callaghan Takes her Bow
Senior Caitlin Callaghan will take her final bow before the Blue Demons and Red Storm battle on Sunday, Nov. 16 and celebrate senior day. The lone senior on the roster, Callaghan enters this week with 415 kills and 813 career digs. The senior has played in over 100 matches and 360 sets.
Fiedler in the Record Books
If the season were to end today, sophomore Jacie Fiedler would own DePaul’s record for single-season attack percentage percentage. The sophomore middle blocker enters the week with a .325 (271-73-609) season attack percentage which is .001 higher than Lara Marks (2000-03) school record .324 hitting percentage she set in 2002. As a freshman, Fiedler tied Marks’ .307 attack percentage for the third best single-season hitting percentage in school history.
BIG EAST Honor Roll
Sarah Cullen was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after leading the Blue Demons to a 1-1 record the weekend of Oct. 11-12. The Blue Demons dropped a tough 3-2 match to Pittsburgh, but bounced back and swept West Virginia the following day. Cullen paced the Blue Demon offense with 33 kills, while she chipped in 21 digs and four service aces. Cullen joins Fiedler as the only other DePaul player to earn the conference honor this season.
Sensational Sarah x2
Junior outside hitter Sarah Cullen was named to the DePaul Invitational All-Tournament team after leading the Blue Demons with 54 kills and a pair of double-doubles. Against Ball State, Cullen tallied a career-high 21 kills. For an encore, the junior was named to the Hawkeye/Holiday Inn Challenge All-Tournament team. During the challenge, Cullen average 4.55 kills per set and registered double-doubles against Portland and Tulsa.
All-Tournament Twice
Jacie Fielder was named to the all-tournament at the Chicagoland Classic and the Golden Bear Invitational. At the Chicagoland, Fiedler tallied 24 kills and team-best .310 attack percentage. Fiedler outdid her opening weekend performance at the Golden Bear Invitational the following weekend. She again led DePaul with a .415 attack percentage and 42 kills. Against No. 5 Cal, Fielder registered a season-high .667 (14-0-21).
BIG EAST Fiedler
Jacie Fiedler was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after being named to the Golden Bear Invitational all-tournament team. Fiedler led the Blue Demons with a .415 attack percentage and 42 kills (3.50 kps) in three matches at Cal. Fiedler also led DePaul with five total blocks on the week.
Hawkeye/Holiday Inn Challenge
DePaul struggled at the Iowa tournament, dropping matches to Tulsa, Iowa and Portland State. The Blue Demons pushed Tulsa and Portland State to four sets, but were unable to take home a “W” from the tournament. Sarah Cullen was named to her second all-tournament team of the season by averaging 4.55 kills per set.
DePaul Invitational Review
The Blue Demons stumbled last weekend at the DePaul Invitational, dropping matches to tournament champion UTSA, Ball State and Denver. Junior outside hitter Sarah Cullen was named to the all-tournament team after tallying 54 kills and a pair of double-doubles (kills-digs).
Golden Bear Recap
The Blue Demons grabbed their first win of the season with a 3-2 come from behind victory over James Madison at the Golden Bear Invitational. Jacie Fiedler was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Blue Demons with a .415 attack percentage and 42 kills (3.50 kps) in three matches. Fiedler also led DePaul with five total blocks. DePaul started out the tournament by dropping matches to No. 5 Cal and UC Riverside.
2008 BIG EAST Championship
The 2008 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship will be conducted Nov. 21-23 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The single-elimination tournament includes eight of the league’s 15 teams. The top eight teams, based on regular season conference records qualify for the event and are seeded according to their finish in the league standings. The 26th annual championship will be hosted by the University of Pittsburgh at the Fitzgerald Field House. ESPNU will air the championship game live on Nov. 23. The champion receives the league’s automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship.