Unbreakable Resiliency Continues Path to Sustained Success
Zidek and the Blue Demons battled through up-and-down 2019 campaign
Bob Sakamoto, Athletics Communications
4/9/2020
“You can’t always predict how a season will go no matter how prepared you feel you are. While some people think progress is a straight line, often times it’s a journey of ups and downs---lessons learned, adversity overcome, and bonds built. That was this year for us.Head coach Marie Zidek
“We learned how to handle highly pressurized points and momentum moments during the middle of the season and fought hard to hang on until we could have our breakthrough at the end of the season in beating Villanova and winning three of our last four matches.”
CHICAGO – A look back at the 2019 DePaul volleyball season can be broken down into three parts---a terrific beginning, a struggle in the middle and a promising finish.
All signs point to coach Marie Zidek having her program heading in the right direction.
Let’s attempt to capture a noteworthy fall full of fight, success and personal and program bests resulting in a significant jump forward in the team’s goal---ascending to the top of the BIG EAST.
The Blue Demons came racing out of the starting gate winning eight of the first nine matches for their best start since going 11-1 in 2015.
“We had some awesome success at the beginning playing true team volleyball,” Zidek said while never once shying away from the rough patch of losing seven of the next eight. “That period of our season was probably the most important, and lessons we learned from that struggle as a team gave us unbreakable resiliency that we used to finish the year.
“You can’t always predict how a season will go no matter how prepared you feel you are. While some people think progress is a straight line, often times it’s a journey of ups and downs---lessons learned, adversity overcome, and bonds built. That was this year for us.
“We learned how to handle highly pressurized points and momentum moments during the middle of the season and fought hard to hang on until we could have our breakthrough at the end of the season in beating Villanova and winning three of our last four matches.”
Opening the new school year in late August winning all three matches at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational in Springfield, Mo. opened some eyes coming off a 5-24 season in 2018.
This new-look team took down Jacksonville 3-1 in the season opener and followed up with 3-2 decisions over Southeast Missouri State and host Missouri State.
After stumbling against Oakland the following weekend in the opener of the CEFCU Invitational in Downstate Peoria, DePaul bounced back with 3-1 victories over Belmont and host Bradley.
Maintaining the early momentum resulted in sweeping all three matches at the DePaul Invitational as the host team defeated Central Michigan and Holy Cross by identical 3-1 scores and finished with a straight-set sweep of Valparaiso.
Winning nine of 11 sets at McGrath-Phillips Arena paved the way for the program’s best start since 2015.
“We put a lot of focus into how we can ‘better the ball’ and ‘elevate the play’ in areas such as second-ball setting, tight balls to the net, decision-making for our attackers, when to block or pull off the net, getting ahead of a team defensively and basically the ‘non-stated plays.’
“Honestly, it was the strength of the group that triggered our fast start. Specifically, Isabelle Banez had a stellar start defensively providing lots of opportunities to score points in transition.”
Turbulence interrupted the smooth sailing when the Blue Demons came up short in seven of the next eight matches including a setback against No. 13 Creighton.
Zidek & Co. fought back to split their next four BIG EAST matches including wins over Providence and Seton Hall. That was followed by a rough stretch culminating with back-to-back losses to No. 10 Marquette.
But something clicked after that final Marquette match as Zidek rallied her team to finish up on a positive note.
“This team had been working so hard all year and really was proving to themselves we were capable of playing with anybody,” Zidek said. “I can count on one hand the bad practices this year which speaks to how hungry this group was all season. We played more sets in league play than any other team in the BIG EAST.
“What I will say that changed after our Marquette weekend was our ability to handle end-of-game pressure. There were so many conference matches this year where we needed two points to close out a set, a single point to close out a match, one swing to give us match point that we let slip away.
“We earned 19 points in the first set we played at Marquette and played really well. I think that was the moment going toe-to-toe with the No. 10 team in the country where our players looked at each other and said, ‘no longer do we need to convince ourselves we can play with anyone---we actually are capable of playing with anyone.’ But it took failing repeatedly to learn that lesson.”
What Zidek expressed to her players after the Marquette loss was practically a foreshadowing of what was to come.
“I told my team that they can compete with anybody,” she said. “You just have to get up one more time than you’re knocked down. I told them that they are teeing up to play their best volleyball yet.
“We were healthy, we were practicing well, the only thing that we needed to get past was being able to control and execute at the end of games and matches where points become more pressurized.”
The reversal began with DePaul’s best performance of the conference season, upsetting third-place Villanova 3-2 and snapping the Wildcats’ seven-match winning streak.
This was an opponent that arrived in Lincoln Park locked in on securing a postseason berth with a 20-6 overall record, 11-3 in the BIG EAST and in the running for an NCAA tournament at-large berth. Villanova opened up with a 25-21 decision in the first set.
Instead of giving in, Zidek’s team came storming back with a 25-20 result in the second set followed by a 25-19 win in set No. 3.
The Wildcats blunted the home team’s surge with a 25-20 decision in the fourth set and took an early 6-4 lead in the clincher.
But something Zidek told her team heading into the final game took hold whether it was the reminders about handling pressure, playing with confidence or simply realizing how much fun a moment like this can be.
“Teams build unbreakable bonds in pressurized moments, and we reminded them of how fun this next moment was going to be and that they were playing some of their best volleyball all year when it was needed most---at the end of matches at the end of the season,” Zidek recalled.
The Blue Demons bounced back to capture the next six points in seizing a 10-6 lead on their way to a 15-10 victory.
Emma Price led the way with 18 kills while Brittany Maxwell filled the stat sheet with 15 kills, 10 digs and two service aces.
Freshman Bailey Nelson finished with 10 kills, Donna Brown had nine and Banez recorded a match-high 22 digs.
That inspiring triumph launched the Lincoln Park team on a three-match winning streak that included wins over Georgetown and Providence.
Zidek & Co. ended the season on a historic note, winning a set against No. 12 Creighton for the first time since 2016 while playing some of their best volleyball of the season during the 3-1 setback.
“I’m just really proud of our team,” said Zidek while celebrating Maxwell and Brown being named to the All-BIG EAST Team. “Individuals cannot get accolades like this without team execution.
“This group practiced hard every day. Very rarely took their foot off the gas pedal, and as we looked at our season from start to finish the improvement we made was really impeccable.”
The Blue Demons’ .470 winning percentage and six conference wins were the second-highest since joining the BIG EAST. Villanova became the highest-ranked RPI win since joining the BIG EAST. They led the conference with 74 sets played in demonstrating the team’s resiliency.
Other highlights included:
• Highest finish (seventh) since BIG EAST realignment
• Moved up more than 100 points in the RPI
• Won 67 percent of non-conference matches
• Two All-BIG EAST selections for first time since 2016 (Maxwell and Jasmine King)
• Three-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week Isabelle Banez set program record for digs in a season with 566 and was second in the BIG EAST in digs per set
• Maxwell honorable mention BIG EAST Player of the Week
• Brown led the BIG EAST in attack percentage and set DePaul season record in attack percentage
• Maxwell was second in the league in points per set
Watch out for this rising program in 2020 led by a strong returning core of Brown, Banez, Emma Price and Avarie Evans-Allen.
That will be supplemented by the additions of Memphis sophomore transfer Molly Murrihy and University of the Pacific sophomore transfer Allison Dennemann.
Murrihy was the primary setter as a freshman starting 29 of 30 matches and was an Under Armour All-American in 2017 after leading Marist to the Class 4A state title. Dennemann started 29 of 30 matches for the 13-17 Tigers last season and was a MaxPreps High School All-American out of New Palestine, Ind.
“This returning group is a strong core that will be the backbone of the 2020 squad,” Zidek said. “They have been through so much together, and there’s this confidence that they are forming in their games and in each other that’s special.
“With the additions of Dennemann, Murrihy and our incoming freshmen, we should have a very talented and balanced squad that is capable of anything. I’m chomping at the bit to get back in the gym and continue with these hard working, competitive and fierce young women.”
