DePaul Travels to Georgetown, Villanova

Friday, November 2

Washington, D.C.

4:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Georgetown

10/31/2018 10:02:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

After being home last weekend, the Blue Demons are back on the road for two weekend contests.

CHICAGO - With the season winding down, the Blue Demons are set to compete in two BIG EAST road contests this weekend. On Friday, DePaul will travel to Georgetown for a 4:00 p.m. match. The team will then face Villanova on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

"Georgetown and Villanova are exciting road trips for us," said head coach Marie Zidek. "Both teams play more of a style that we match up well with and we have individual players that match up well with their individual players.

"All three programs have a lot riding on these matches as almost the entire conference is still trying to sort itself out to see who gets those top four spots required for BIG EAST tournament play.

"Georgetown continues to play teams tough on the backs of their best player, Speech, and Villanova is such an excellent defensive team that they continue to pressure your side to make the spectacular play in order to earn the point. Nova also gained back one of their go-to players, Barnes, an ultimate threat on the pin.

"That said, there will be no drill or scout left undone before playing these two teams. We have ultimate respect for both, but we want what they want ... to make a final push towards the top four in the conference. I guarantee you that nobody is taking anybody lightly in November and everybody believes they have a shot."

Last Time Versus Georgetown
In late September, DePaul hosted Georgetown and dominated in four sets 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-20) for the Blue Demons' first BIG EAST win of the 2018 season. In the win, four different DePaul sources tallied double-digit digs. Mattie Norris put up 17, MacKenzie Savage tallied 22, Claire Anderson chipped in 16 and Katie Dolan added 16. Anderson recorded her second double-double of the season, totaling 12 kills along with her digs.

Scouting the Hoyas
Georgetown was picked to finish eighth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll and currently sits fourth in the standings with a balanced record of 6-6 in league play and a 13-11 overall record on the season.

Georgetown standout Symone Speech was recently named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after an impressive all-around performance last weekend. In two road matches, Speech averaged 2.25 kills per set and achieved a .292 hitting percentage. She also totaled 15 blocks for an impressive 1.88 blocks per set average and added four digs.

Last Time Versus Villanova
Last time versus the Wildcats, DePaul kept Villanova on their toes but fell in three sets 0-3 (20-25, 20-25, 19-25).

Scouting the Wildcats
Villanova was picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll and currently sits just shy of that as number five in the standings.

Most recently, two Wildcats were named to BIG EAST Weekly Awards, with Clare Delaplane being named freshman of the week and Regan Lough to weekly honor roll.

Delaplane acquired her third rookie award, averaging 4.75 kills over that weekend, which was the second-best in the conference overall. She also tallied 11 digs in the win over Providence to complete her fifth double-double of the season.

During the same weekend, Lough totaled 43 digs averaging 5.38 digs per set. Lough had 20 digs against Providence and 23 against Creighton.

Live Coverage
Friday's match will be streamed live through the BEDN. Live stats can be viewed here.
Saturday's match can be viewed live through Nova Nation All-Access. Live stats can be viewed here.

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