DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
Connecticut
Volleyball Hosts Home-Opening DePaul Invitational
9/6/2018 10:56:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Come avoid the rain and enjoy the good game of volleyball at McGrath-Phillips this weekend!
CHICAGO – The DePaul volleyball team is set to host their home-opening DePaul Invitational, featuring Connecticut, Florida Atlantic and Purdue Fort Wayne this weekend at McGrath-Phillips Arena. DePaul's lone Friday match will be played against Connecticut at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, Sept. 8, the Blue Demons will face Florida Atlantic at 10:00 a.m. and Purdue Fort Wayne at 7:00 p.m. to cap off the invitational.
Last weekend, DePaul competed in Central Michigan's Chippewa Invitational and fell in three sets to Valparaiso in their first match. Later in the day, DePaul would seek redemption and sweep CMU (25-10, 25-22, 25-21). In the final match of the invitational, DPU would fall in a hard-fought four-set loss to La Salle (25-23, 23-25, 21-25, 18-25).
Sophomore transfer Emma Price was named to the Chippewa Invitational All-Tournament Team after being a key contributor to DePaul's Friday sweep. With 26 kills over the weekend, Price accounted for 27.5 total points, nine of them taking place in the winning match.
"We are very excited for our DePaul Invitational this weekend as it will serve as our 2018 home-opener," said head coach Marie Zidek. "This group continues to move the needle every day in practice and rise to new challenges.
"I know the team is anxious to show off all of their hard work on our home floor. In addition to being an excellent opportunity for the local volleyball community to come watch some good volleyball, we are weaving a very special piece of our program into the weekend – our alumni.
"Saturday will serve as our Blue Demon Alumni Day where we will honor all DePaul volleyball alumni. This year, we look forward to highlighting the 1993 squad who won conference and made it to the NCAA Tournament that year.
"I have had the pleasure of meeting many of our alumni since taking over in January and as we migrate this program towards BIG EAST success, it is very important that we connect with the women who have provided us this awesome opportunity.
"We hope to see a strong home crowd out this Friday and Saturday donning their DePaul blue."
Last Time vs. Connecticut
The Blue Demons and Huskies last faced off in 2012 when DePaul volleyball alum Vesela Zapryanova recorded 19 kills on 32 attempts (against just five errors) and hit a personal best .438 attack percentage. Regardless of the solid performance from Zapryanova, DPU fell 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 23-25, 20-25).
Scouting The Huskies
Last weekend, the Huskies hosted the 2018 UConn Challenge which featured Iona, New Hampshire and Syracuse. The Uconn volleyball team went 2-0 during the first day beating both New Hampshire and Iona in four sets and run their winning streak to four-straight. The wins also earned head coach Kris Grunwald his 100th career victory.
In their most recent match and final match our the tournament, the Huskies dropped a 3-2 decision to Syracuse, bringing them to 2-1 on the tournament and 5-2 overall on the season.
Connecticut ended last season with an 11-21 overall record after closing out the 2017 season with a 3-2 loss against conference rival Temple (18-20, 25-27, 25-20, 12-15).
Uconn's roster features freshman Caylee Parker who for the second consecutive week played her way into earning a spot on the American Athletic Conference Volleyball Honor Roll. Parker helped guide the Huskies to a 3-1 record over their four home matches last week.
Parker recorded a pair of double-doubles and led the team to 52 kills, averaging 3.47 kills per set. Additionally, she totaled 35 digs (2.33 per set) and had eight blocks over the weekend.
On the season, Parker ranks third in the AAC averaging 3.73 kills per set. She has a team-best 93 kills on the season and is third on the club with 57 digs, an average of 2.28 digs per set.
UConn was picked to finish in 11th place in the American Athletic Conference Poll out of 12 teams.
Last Time vs. Florida Atlantic
The last dance between FAU and DePaul took place in 2009 in the Blue Demons' home opener. DePaul got things started off right, winning the first match of the season 3-1 (23-25, 25-16, 25-16, 25-20). The win over the Burrowing Owls marked the first time in five years that the DePaul volleyball team would walk away with the "W" in the season opener, extending its all-time series against the Owls to 3-0.
Scouting The Burrowing Owls
The Owls opened their home schedule last weekend, hosting the FAU Invitational, which included St. Peter's, The Citadel and Bethune-Cookman. Florida Atlantic would sweep both days of the tournament, taking down SPU (25-12, 25-10, 25-14) and CIT (25-15, 25-15, 25-15).
On day two, Florida Atlantic won the FAU Invitational title with a sweep of Bethune-Cookman (25-18, 25-13, 25-8), improving the Owls to 3-3 on the year.
In 2017, the Florida Atlantic volleyball team continued its success under head coach Fernanda Nelson, making its fifth consecutive Conference USA Tournament where they fell to UTSA in four sets (25-19, 25-16, 11-25, 25-18) in the quarterfinals following an 18-8 regular season.
Recently, FAU senior Ivone Martinez was named Conference USA Setter of the Week for the second time. Martinez averaged 34.3 assists and 5.3 digs while leading the Owls to a 3-0 record at the FAU Invitational where she was named Tournament MVP.
Last Time vs. Purdue Fort Wayne
The Blue Demons and Mastodons last battled in 2011 at the Cleveland State Tournament where DPU fell to Purdue Fort Wayne in a heartbreaking five-set loss in the final match of the tournament. The Blue Demons took the first and fourth sets by a 25-20 margin but fell in the remainder of the frames by scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 15-13.
Scouting Mastodons
Last weekend, the Mastodons extended their winning streak to four after defeating Eastern Michigan (25-20, 25-20, 26-24, 25-23), improving their record to 5-3.
The Mastodons concluded the 2017 season after dropping to South Dakota in the quarterfinals of the Summit League Championship, ending the season with an overall record of 12-19.
Purdue Fort Wayne senior setter Madison Jaqua was recently named Summit League Offensive Player of the Week for her performance in the team's opening match of the season. During that weekend, Jaqua recorded a league-high 12.91 assists per set on 142 assists. Her average of the week would have led the NCAA last season.
In three matches, Jaqua notched two double-doubles with 51 assists and 14 digs in a 3-1 victory over Liberty and 44 assists and 13 digs against Oakland. She also finished the week ranked 15th in the league in digs per set (3.00), second-most by any primary setter.
Live Coverage
For this weekend's matches, fans can watch the live feed for free through DePaul All-Access TV. Live stats can be viewed here for all matches.
Social Media
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