DePaul Hosts Providence, No. 10 Creighton

CHICAGO - DePaul (5-16, 3-7 BIG EAST) will return to McGrath-Phillips this weekend to host Providence (7-14, 1-9 BIG EAST) and No. 10 Creighton (18-4, 10-0 BIG EAST). Play against Providence will take place Friday and is set to start at 7:00 p.m. Saturday's match against Creighton will begin one hour earlier at 6:00 p.m.

"The staff and I have been so impressed with how engaged and hard this team has been practicing the past two weeks," said head coach Marie Zidek. "There is no win or loss that can slow down their confidence or ability to improve and they have really embraced that as our reality.

"The end of October for most teams sees practice efforts and attitudes drop off. That is not this team. They may have absorbed a tough blow by Marquette last week, and we know we have to claw our way to our next victory, but they have continued to come back to practices playing with joy and ready to work hard as ever.

"We have turned a major corner where they really are loving the process of getting better and working together as a tight unit. This Providence- Creighton weekend is an excellent opportunity to show that off as we are still on the hunt for the next W and the team has done a great job sprinting this marathon of a season one match at a time."

Last Time Versus Providence
Not long after the commencement of 2018 BIG EAST play, the Blue Demons traveled to Rhode Island and took the first two sets against Providence in what would turn into a five set battle where DePaul fell 2-3 (28-26, 26-24, 15-25, 19-25, 10-15). The contest marked the second- consecutive BIG EAST match where Isabelle Banez topped both teams in digs, with 30 and the second highest being 21 from a Providence unit.

Scouting the Friars
Providence was picked to finish ninth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll and currently sits last in conference rankings with the win against DePaul being their lone BIG EAST win this season. Last weekend, the Friars fell in four sets to Xavier, dropping 1-3 (23-25, 22-25, 25-17, 23-25).

Last season, the Friars finished with a record of 17-16 (6-12 BIG EAST) with conference wins over Villanova, Georgetown (2), DePaul (2) and Xavier.

Last Time Versus Creighton
The Blue Demons opened 2018 BIG EAST play at Creighton that resulted in a DPU loss in three sets 0-3 (13-25, 12-25, 15-25). Regardless of the final outcome, Banez shined, as she remained persistent and led both teams in digs with 14, with the second highest being shared by two Creighton sources who tallied 11-a-piece.

Scouting the Bluejays
Originally picked to finish second in the BIG EAST, Creighton currently leads the league after sweeping top-contender Marquette to be perfect in conference play this season. Some of the Bluejays biggest wins this season have been against No. 5 Kentucky, No. 21 Marquette, Northern Iowa, NC State, Iowa State and Wichita State.

Creighton returns three All-Americans including senior outside hitters Taryn Kloth (4.06 kps., .268%) and Jaali Winters (3.71 kps., 3.14 dps.), as well as 2017 BIG EAST Libero of the Year Brittany Witt (4.40 dps.).

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

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Players Mentioned

Isabelle Banez

DePaul University Athletics