BIG EAST Action Continues for DePaul on the Road
10/15/2009 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
CHICAGO - The DePaul volleyball team hits the road this weekend for a pair of BIG EAST Conference matches against West Virginia and Pittsburgh. On Fri., Oct. 16, the Blue Demons square off against the Mountaineers at 5 p.m. (CST). Following a travel day, DePaul meets with Pittsburgh on Sunday at noon.
Last weekend, DePaul (6-13, 0-5 BIG EAST) suffered two league losses to Louisville (10-8, 3-2) and Cincinnati (13-8, 4-1). Cullen paced the Blue Demons with weekend kill total of 16, while Molly Creek committed just one attack error all weekend in route to a blistering .429 (9-1-19) clip.
Cullen has been the favorite target of setter Sammy Geiger all season, and currently ranks ninth in the BIG EAST Conference with 3.21kills per game, and eighth in overall kills with 231.
Watch Out West Virginia
The Blue Demons could tally their first BIG EAST win of the season against the Mountaineers on Friday evening. Last season, DePaul snapped a 12-match losing streak against West Virginia after a dominating 3-0 win. The Mountaineers are coming off a weekend split, having dropped a 3-game match to USF before defeating Georgetown in five. The team is lead by Lauren Evans, who boasts a team-high 194 kills on a .301 attack percentage. Evans also leads the team in blocks, while Bonnie West has been stellar in the back court with 315 digs. The first meeting between the two squads was back in 1989, when the Blue Demons recorded a 3-0 win. The Mountaineers lead the all-time series, 3-2.
Panthers on the Prowl
DePaul and Pittsburgh meet against for just the seventh time in program history. Last year, the Panthers narrowly escaped McGrath Arena with a 3-2 win to extend their series lead to 6-0. Pittsburgh has opened its BIG EAST schedule 5-1, suffering a single loss to Cincinnati that ended in a fourth-set battle that ended 35-33 in favor of the Bearcats. The Panthers rely on the arms of Meagan Dooly and Amy Town, who are both set to break the 300 season kill total on Saturday against Notre Dame. Dooly touts 298 put away, with Town close behind at 294. Additionally, Dooly ranks second in the BIG EAST with 106 blocks.
Noting the Blue Demons
Sarah Cullen ranks ninth in the BIG EAST with 3.21 kills-per-game and eighth with an overall kill total of 231... Molly Creek boasted a .421 (9-1-19) attack percentage last weekend against Louisville and Cincinnati... Chandler Carney improved her career-best attack percentage to .429 (11-2-21) against Villanova... West Virginia leads the all-time series against DePaul 3-2... Cullen has reached the double-digit kill plateau on ten occasions this season... she has also registered a double-double (kills-digs) in eight matches this season bringing her career total to 35... other Blue Demons to record a double-double inclued Christy Landschoot (Assists-Digs) and Sammy Geiger (kills-assists)... Pittsburgh holds a 6-0 series advantage over the Blue Demons... Sarah Cullen has reached double figures in digs during 12 matches this season to lead the squad, while Chelsea Thurlby has reached the plateau 10 times... while Rachel Aumann tops the overall blocks total with 35, Chandler Carney has recorded an impressive seven solo blocks.
Up Next
After a weekend on the road, the Blue Demons return home to McGrath Arena on Fri., Oct. 23 to host Notre Dame. The breast cancer awareness weekend begins at 3 p.m. with a women's soccer match against Georgetown followed by the 7 p.m. show down between DePaul and the Irish. Otherwise known as DiG Pink, the event will be played in pink jerseys and with pink volleyballs. A $10 donation at the door will get you a pink DePaul t-shirt (while supplies last) and a raffle ticket to win jerseys and volleyballs.