Volleyball Hosts Mid-Week Match Against Butler

Wednesday, October 3

McGrath-Phillips Arena

7:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Butler

Volleyball Hosts Mid-Week Match Against Butler

10/2/2018 10:12:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Coming off of their first BIG EAST victory over the weekend against Georgetown, the Blue Demons host Butler for a mid-week matchup.

CHICAGO - After notching their first 2018 BIG EAST victory over the weekend against Georgetown, the Blue Demons (3-12, 1-3 BIG EAST) will host Butler (5-11, 2-2 BIG EAST) for a Wednesday match on Oct. 3. Play will initiate at 7:00 p.m and will take place at McGrath-Phillips Arena.

"The team continues to build off of momentum from last weekend's victory over Georgetown," said head coach Marie Zidek. "We have been talking a lot with our team about how close we were to breaking through, and the win really helped build some much needed competitive confidence.

"The team is trusting in our system and in each other. Certainly, like any team, we have our obstacles we have to get past, but I'm really proud of how hard this team practices each day. There is definitely an edge starting to form that will help us during the grind of October, especially during our five-match stretch that takes place over the next ten days.

Last Time Vs. Butler
In the last 2017 face-off between the Blue Demons and Bulldogs, DePaul hosted Butler but fell in three close sets 3-0 (18-25, 18-25, 22-25).

Scouting the Bulldogs
Butler, who was picked to finish third in the BIG EAST 2018 Preseason Coaches' Poll, currently adds up to be 5-11 (2-2 BIG EAST) on the season. Butler opened up BIG EAST play by sweeping Seton Hall on the road 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-20). In its next two contests, Butler fell in five sets against both St. John's and #10 Creighton. Most recently, the Bulldogs swept Providence on homecoming 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-19).

The Bulldogs return senior middle blocker Bri Lilly who was named to the Preseason All- BIG EAST team and last year set a school record by posting a .378 attack percentage. She recorded 258 kills in just 532 attempts and 200 of those 258 kills came against conference foes. Lilly hit .426 against BIG EAST opponents and 81 of her 121 blocks on the season also came against conference competition.

"Butler is a great opponent," said Zidek. "Their record is very misleading as they have played a tough non-conference season, and they come into conference hungry for some wins. They rely a lot on their middle, Bri Lilly, a Chicago kid that I'm sure will enjoy coming back to play in front of a home-based crowd.

"We are lucky to have played Georgetown so close to Butler in that reliance on their middles prepared us well for this match. I really like how Donna Brown, Isabell De La Rosa and Avarie Evans-Allen are competing right now, so I expect it will be a good battle in that position.

"Our young and inexperienced group continues to gain match experience and with match experience, they gain competitive confidence. I'm super excited with our upcoming schedule in that we have the opportunity to make some massive gains in our game during October. We feel we can compete with anybody the more confident and consistent we become in our game."

Live Coverage
Wednesday's live stream can be viewed for free through Blue Demons All-Access. Live stats will be available here.

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