DePaul University Athletics
Friday, September 14
Chicago, Ill.
7:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
at
Loyola-Chicago
DPU To Move Needle Forward at Chicago Cup
9/12/2018 3:08:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Zidek and team enter a new weekend of competition and hold close to them their melody of moving the needle forward.
CHICAGO – The Blue Demons will remain in Chicago as they travel down the road to compete against three city rivals in the Chicago Cup, their last non-conference tournament of the season. DePaul will play in a 7:00 p.m. match Friday against host Loyola and on Saturday will play in a 10:00 a.m. match against Northwestern and will cap off their time in the tournament with a match against UIC at 5:00 p.m. Play will take place at Gentile Arena.
"The Chicago Cup is one of the most important weekends on our schedule and will be for years to come," said head coach Marie Zidek. "We are so lucky to have so many schools at the Division I level that compete in different conferences."
Loyola is part of the Missouri Valley Conference, UIC the Horizon League and Northwestern the Big Ten.
"Chicago has always been a hot bed of volleyball and this weekend is an excellent opportunity for the local talent to get out and watch some of the city's best teams compete."
With the stakes high, each team shows up to the Cup every year ready to leave it all on the court and fight for their dignity in order to defend their stature in the city of Chicago. DePaul enters the tournament eager to lay out a successful foundation in the city rivalry for years to come.
"All week in practice, we have been calling this rivalry week because no matter what each opponent is ranked, there is an extra edge of pride on the line.
"We have an excellent opportunity this weekend to go out and prove it on the court against some very talented teams in UIC, Loyola and Northwestern. All of these opponents are wellc-oached and highly motivated."
This season, the DePaul volleyball program has centered their mindset around one objective and that is, in Coach Zidek's words, to move the needle forward. Regardless of the win-loss column, the team finds strength in the small, day-to-day improvements that help upgrade them both individually and as a unit. With her sights set high, Zidek believes that keeping the athletes grounded and hungry amidst adversity will bring her vision for the program closer to a reality.
"One of my many goals for this program is to emerge as the top volleyball program in the Chicagoland area. I want DePaul to be the first school that the local elite level volleyball recruits consider when making their decisions.
"The team has had this weekend circled on their calendars since pre-season started. It goes without saying how excited we all are for this tournament weekend not only to move the needle, but have that extra edge of rivalry week during our non-conference campaign."
Last Time Against Loyola
In 2017, DePaul swept Loyola 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-19), holding the Ramblers to only eight points in the first set and allowing only three lead changes in the second. Isabelle Banez served as a major help in a five-point streak that capped off DPU's victorious third set. In the match, Brittany Maxwell led the team with 12 kills, 26 attacks and 15.5 points. Claire Anderson recorded 12 attacks in the contest.
Scouting The Ramblers
Sitting 7-2 on the 2018 season, Loyola has defeated McNeese State, Furman, Georgia State, Marshall, Utah State, Western Michigan and Canisius. Last weekend, Loyola rallied past Canisius, winning the Delta Hotel by Marriott Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament and extending their winning streak to seven matches, their longest since 2015.
This week, Loyola's junior setter Delilah Wolf senior libero Alex Nunez were named Missouri Valley Conference Player and Defensive Player of the week. Last weekend, the duo helped the Ramblers extend their win streak and surpass their win total from all of last season (5).
Over the weekend, Wolf accumulated 43 assists, a career-best 17 digs, four kills and two blocks in a victory over Utah State to open the tournament, then later that evening went for 40 assists, four digs, two blocks and a pair of kills in a sweep of host Western Michigan. She tallied 42 assists, seven digs, four blocks, two kills and a pair of aces in a four-set victory over Canisius to close out the weekend.
Nunez anchored the back row at the tournament as she averaged 6.08 digs per set to go with 0.58 assists per set.
Last Time Against Northwestern
The Wildcats and Blue Demons last met in 2017 as Northwestern competed in the DePaul Invitational, topping DPU in three sets to cap off the tournament.
Scouting The Wildcats
Alike Loyola, the Wildcats have accumulated a 7-2 record on the 2018 season. Northwestern ranks second in the Big Ten in attacks per set and third in kills per set and assists per set. NU's 13.3 assists per set find them at 25th in the nation.
Sophomore Nia Robinson's 128 total kills are second-most in the Big Ten. Alana Walker, a sophomore posted a hitting percentage of .900 in NU's win over Colgate on Aug. 31, with nine kills on 10 swings and no errors, making the output the second-best in Wildcat history.
Rookie setter Kiara McNulty earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in Week One after three-straight 40-plus assist efforts.
Last Time Against UIC
DePaul took down UIC in four sets 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-22, 25-23) at the UIC Invitational finale in 2017. In the match, Brittany Maxwell and Claire Anderson surpassed two career bests from the 2016 season. Maxwell racked up 48 attacks and 10 digs for the match rounding out with 14.5 points.
Scouting The Flames
Last weekend, the Flames fell to FIU in their final match of the UCF Challenge, evening their record to 5-5. This was after sweeping Wofford (25-22, 25-21, 25-23) and then falling to host UCF 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 16-25) on the first day.
UIC ended the 2017 season 17-13 after being edged by No. 4 Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament.
UIC enters the 2018 season showcasing a young team, as they added nine new players to their 17-player roster.
Live Coverage
This weekend's matches will be streamed live through ESPN. Live stats can be viewed here for all matches.
Social Media
For everything DePaul Volleyball, follow the Blue Demons across multiple social media platforms: Twitter or Instagram. Join in the conversation using #DPUvb.
Be sure to like DePaul on Facebook and check out some of the sights and sounds around DePaul on Twitter or on Instagram.
Miss any of the action? Subscribe to the Blue Demons on YouTube.
"The Chicago Cup is one of the most important weekends on our schedule and will be for years to come," said head coach Marie Zidek. "We are so lucky to have so many schools at the Division I level that compete in different conferences."
Loyola is part of the Missouri Valley Conference, UIC the Horizon League and Northwestern the Big Ten.
"Chicago has always been a hot bed of volleyball and this weekend is an excellent opportunity for the local talent to get out and watch some of the city's best teams compete."
With the stakes high, each team shows up to the Cup every year ready to leave it all on the court and fight for their dignity in order to defend their stature in the city of Chicago. DePaul enters the tournament eager to lay out a successful foundation in the city rivalry for years to come.
"All week in practice, we have been calling this rivalry week because no matter what each opponent is ranked, there is an extra edge of pride on the line.
"We have an excellent opportunity this weekend to go out and prove it on the court against some very talented teams in UIC, Loyola and Northwestern. All of these opponents are wellc-oached and highly motivated."
This season, the DePaul volleyball program has centered their mindset around one objective and that is, in Coach Zidek's words, to move the needle forward. Regardless of the win-loss column, the team finds strength in the small, day-to-day improvements that help upgrade them both individually and as a unit. With her sights set high, Zidek believes that keeping the athletes grounded and hungry amidst adversity will bring her vision for the program closer to a reality.
"One of my many goals for this program is to emerge as the top volleyball program in the Chicagoland area. I want DePaul to be the first school that the local elite level volleyball recruits consider when making their decisions.
"The team has had this weekend circled on their calendars since pre-season started. It goes without saying how excited we all are for this tournament weekend not only to move the needle, but have that extra edge of rivalry week during our non-conference campaign."
Last Time Against Loyola
In 2017, DePaul swept Loyola 3-0 (25-8, 25-16, 25-19), holding the Ramblers to only eight points in the first set and allowing only three lead changes in the second. Isabelle Banez served as a major help in a five-point streak that capped off DPU's victorious third set. In the match, Brittany Maxwell led the team with 12 kills, 26 attacks and 15.5 points. Claire Anderson recorded 12 attacks in the contest.
Scouting The Ramblers
Sitting 7-2 on the 2018 season, Loyola has defeated McNeese State, Furman, Georgia State, Marshall, Utah State, Western Michigan and Canisius. Last weekend, Loyola rallied past Canisius, winning the Delta Hotel by Marriott Kalamazoo Conference Center Tournament and extending their winning streak to seven matches, their longest since 2015.
This week, Loyola's junior setter Delilah Wolf senior libero Alex Nunez were named Missouri Valley Conference Player and Defensive Player of the week. Last weekend, the duo helped the Ramblers extend their win streak and surpass their win total from all of last season (5).
Over the weekend, Wolf accumulated 43 assists, a career-best 17 digs, four kills and two blocks in a victory over Utah State to open the tournament, then later that evening went for 40 assists, four digs, two blocks and a pair of kills in a sweep of host Western Michigan. She tallied 42 assists, seven digs, four blocks, two kills and a pair of aces in a four-set victory over Canisius to close out the weekend.
Nunez anchored the back row at the tournament as she averaged 6.08 digs per set to go with 0.58 assists per set.
Last Time Against Northwestern
The Wildcats and Blue Demons last met in 2017 as Northwestern competed in the DePaul Invitational, topping DPU in three sets to cap off the tournament.
Scouting The Wildcats
Alike Loyola, the Wildcats have accumulated a 7-2 record on the 2018 season. Northwestern ranks second in the Big Ten in attacks per set and third in kills per set and assists per set. NU's 13.3 assists per set find them at 25th in the nation.
Sophomore Nia Robinson's 128 total kills are second-most in the Big Ten. Alana Walker, a sophomore posted a hitting percentage of .900 in NU's win over Colgate on Aug. 31, with nine kills on 10 swings and no errors, making the output the second-best in Wildcat history.
Rookie setter Kiara McNulty earned Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors in Week One after three-straight 40-plus assist efforts.
Last Time Against UIC
DePaul took down UIC in four sets 3-1 (23-25, 25-11, 25-22, 25-23) at the UIC Invitational finale in 2017. In the match, Brittany Maxwell and Claire Anderson surpassed two career bests from the 2016 season. Maxwell racked up 48 attacks and 10 digs for the match rounding out with 14.5 points.
Scouting The Flames
Last weekend, the Flames fell to FIU in their final match of the UCF Challenge, evening their record to 5-5. This was after sweeping Wofford (25-22, 25-21, 25-23) and then falling to host UCF 3-1 (16-25, 25-20, 16-25) on the first day.
UIC ended the 2017 season 17-13 after being edged by No. 4 Green Bay in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament.
UIC enters the 2018 season showcasing a young team, as they added nine new players to their 17-player roster.
Live Coverage
This weekend's matches will be streamed live through ESPN. Live stats can be viewed here for all matches.
Social Media
For everything DePaul Volleyball, follow the Blue Demons across multiple social media platforms: Twitter or Instagram. Join in the conversation using #DPUvb.
Be sure to like DePaul on Facebook and check out some of the sights and sounds around DePaul on Twitter or on Instagram.
Miss any of the action? Subscribe to the Blue Demons on YouTube.
Players Mentioned
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