DePaul University Athletics
Volleyball Set for Spring Schedule
4/3/2018 12:00:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
CHICAGO - The DePaul volleyball team will compete in three spring events as head coach Marie Zidek and the Blue Demons prep for the 2018 season next fall. DePaul will face Bradley, UIC, Notre Dame, Northwestern and SIU-Edwardsville in April.
"Our Spring schedule was structured with a couple of goals in mind," said Zidek. "First, the non-championship season competition schedule allows our players the opportunity to apply the new offensive and defensive systems we've introduced to them to in a lightly pressurized setting. The second purpose of the spring schedule was to showcase our program and its vision in front of the Chicagoland volleyball community. The last purpose is to face competition outside of our workouts each day. I am very thankful for these spring competitions to keep us hungry for growth, playing the game with pure joy, and elevating our players' games to a new level. We look forward to seeing our fans and local community out at these events as they are all open to the public."
DePaul opens the spring slate at Bradley on April 8 for matches against Bradley and SIU-Edwardsville. On April 14, the Blue Demons face Notre Dame at Mother McAuley High School on Chicago's southside in a single match. The final spring date is April 21 at UIC for competition against UIC and Northwestern.
"The staff and I have been laying the foundation for what our future is going to look like as it pertains to how we approach and execute playing the game at a high level. We have had great buy-in from our players as they see the benefits of our training structure and enjoy the energy in the gym. It will be very revealing to see how they adapt the new systems versus other regional opponents who are playing around well-established systems. I think it's safe to say we are all chomping at the bit to see who emerges as our core moving forward," said Zidek.
Zidek was named head coach on Dec. 22 and takes over the program after four highly-successful seasons as an assistant coach at San Diego. The Toreros qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of her four seasons and were ranked as high as fifth in the nation during the 2016 campaign. As an assistant coach, Zidek tutored two West Coast Conference Players of the Year, six All-WCC team members and two All-WCC freshmen team honorees. She was named a 30 Under 30 Award winner by the AVCA and returns to Lincoln Park after serving as an assistant coach from 2010-12.
Spring Volleyball Schedule
April 8 at Bradley
vs. Bradley
vs. SIU-Edwardsville
April 14 at Mother McAuley High School
vs. Notre Dame - 3 p.m.
April 21 at UIC
vs. UIC
vs. Northwestern
