Friday, November 19
Chicago, Ill.
7:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
18-11,11-6Big East
3
vs
2
Villanova
15-14,7-10Big East
1
2
3
4
5
F
Villanova
25
11
25
18
14
2
DePaul
21
25
20
25
16
3
DePaul Wins Fifth Straight Match Behind Balanced Attack
11/19/2021 10:57:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Molly Murrihy records season-high 52 assists
CHICAGO – Behind five Blue Demons posting double-digit kills, the DePaul women's volleyball team claimed its fifth consecutive victory with a thrilling 3-2 defeat over Villanova at McGrath-Phillips Arena on Friday evening.
Set scores of the match were: 21-25, 25-11, 20-25, 25-18, 16-14.
DePaul improved to 18-11 on the season and 11-6 in BIG EAST action while picking up the season sweep over the Wildcats for the first time since conference reconfiguration in 2013.
Emma Price and Hanna Karl totaled 15 kills apiece to lead the Blue Demons. Price hit .440 on the evening while Karl posted a .353 hitting percentage to go along with 17 digs for her third-consecutive double-double.
Jill Pressly added a double-double of her own with 13 kills and 11 assists to go along with a pair of block assists.
The middle blocker tandem of Donna Brown and Bailey Nelson combined for 21 kills on an average .485 hitting with Nelson picking up six blocks on the evening including some pivotal rejections in the deciding fifth set.
Senior setter Molly Murrihy controlled the 5-1 offense with a season-high 52 assists while libero Rachel Krasowski posted 17 digs.
Allison Dennemann came off the bench to drop in a career-high five service aces.
How it Happened
Set One: A 7-0 run with Karl behind the service line put DePaul in front 11-6 early in the first set. The Wildcats responded with four of the next five points to come within one at 13-12. Villanova won 11 of the final 14 points in the set to secure a 25-21 victory and take a 1-0 lead on the match.
Set Two: The Blue Demons dominated the second set from start to finish. A Brown termination sandwiched in between a pair of Pressly kills created an 11-6 advantage for the Blue Demons. After a successful Wildcats termination, DePaul rattled off the final eight points of the set with Dennemann behind the service line putting down a trio of aces.
Set Three: A DePaul attack error put Villanova in front 16-9, before the Blue Demons cut the deficit to four at 23-19 after a Karl kill and Wildcats ball handling error. A Nelson kill staved off set points before VU sealed the set three victory with a block at the net to take a 2-1 lead on the match.
Set Four: Dennemann's fourth ace of the evening saw the Blue Demons take an 18-12 lead in the fourth set before a 3-0 Villanova run cut the lead to four at 20-16. A pair of Karl kills secured a 25-18 fourth set victory for DePaul to tie the match at two all.
Set Five: Both sides traded points until the Blue Demons took an 11-10 lead to force a Villanova timeout. The Wildcats responded with consecutive points to go up 12-11. Karl's 15th kill of the evening handed the Blue Demons match point and the ensuing play saw a Villanova attacker hit the ball out of play with the initial ruling DePaul's point. After a challenge from the Wildcats bench the call was overturned to a kill knotting the score back to 14. A VU service error followed by a Pressly kill put DePaul on top 16-14 to win the match.
From Head Coach Marie Zidek: "What a gutsy effort by both teams in that match. Nova made some great in match adjustments moving into the 6-2 with both Kathleen Johnson and Barnes hot. We had multiple people playing out of position tonight as well and battled some serious adversity with our last-minute lineup changes. Bailey (Nelson) stepped up big time playing middle tonight as did Molly running the 5-1. Fifth sets we continue to play with no fear and to do it today with virtually no time to practice this lineup is a story this group will carry forever."
Up Next: The Blue Demons will welcome Georgetown to McGrath-Phillips Arena on Saturday at 6 p.m. for its final match of the regular season. DePaul's six graduating seniors: Donna Brown, Allison Dennemann, Mireya Garcia, Molly Murrihy, Emma Price and Meredith Wallace will be honored prior to Saturday's match. Fans can catch the action streaming live on FloSports.
Set scores of the match were: 21-25, 25-11, 20-25, 25-18, 16-14.
DePaul improved to 18-11 on the season and 11-6 in BIG EAST action while picking up the season sweep over the Wildcats for the first time since conference reconfiguration in 2013.
Emma Price and Hanna Karl totaled 15 kills apiece to lead the Blue Demons. Price hit .440 on the evening while Karl posted a .353 hitting percentage to go along with 17 digs for her third-consecutive double-double.
Jill Pressly added a double-double of her own with 13 kills and 11 assists to go along with a pair of block assists.
The middle blocker tandem of Donna Brown and Bailey Nelson combined for 21 kills on an average .485 hitting with Nelson picking up six blocks on the evening including some pivotal rejections in the deciding fifth set.
Senior setter Molly Murrihy controlled the 5-1 offense with a season-high 52 assists while libero Rachel Krasowski posted 17 digs.
Allison Dennemann came off the bench to drop in a career-high five service aces.
How it Happened
Set One: A 7-0 run with Karl behind the service line put DePaul in front 11-6 early in the first set. The Wildcats responded with four of the next five points to come within one at 13-12. Villanova won 11 of the final 14 points in the set to secure a 25-21 victory and take a 1-0 lead on the match.
Set Two: The Blue Demons dominated the second set from start to finish. A Brown termination sandwiched in between a pair of Pressly kills created an 11-6 advantage for the Blue Demons. After a successful Wildcats termination, DePaul rattled off the final eight points of the set with Dennemann behind the service line putting down a trio of aces.
Set Three: A DePaul attack error put Villanova in front 16-9, before the Blue Demons cut the deficit to four at 23-19 after a Karl kill and Wildcats ball handling error. A Nelson kill staved off set points before VU sealed the set three victory with a block at the net to take a 2-1 lead on the match.
Set Four: Dennemann's fourth ace of the evening saw the Blue Demons take an 18-12 lead in the fourth set before a 3-0 Villanova run cut the lead to four at 20-16. A pair of Karl kills secured a 25-18 fourth set victory for DePaul to tie the match at two all.
Set Five: Both sides traded points until the Blue Demons took an 11-10 lead to force a Villanova timeout. The Wildcats responded with consecutive points to go up 12-11. Karl's 15th kill of the evening handed the Blue Demons match point and the ensuing play saw a Villanova attacker hit the ball out of play with the initial ruling DePaul's point. After a challenge from the Wildcats bench the call was overturned to a kill knotting the score back to 14. A VU service error followed by a Pressly kill put DePaul on top 16-14 to win the match.
From Head Coach Marie Zidek: "What a gutsy effort by both teams in that match. Nova made some great in match adjustments moving into the 6-2 with both Kathleen Johnson and Barnes hot. We had multiple people playing out of position tonight as well and battled some serious adversity with our last-minute lineup changes. Bailey (Nelson) stepped up big time playing middle tonight as did Molly running the 5-1. Fifth sets we continue to play with no fear and to do it today with virtually no time to practice this lineup is a story this group will carry forever."
Up Next: The Blue Demons will welcome Georgetown to McGrath-Phillips Arena on Saturday at 6 p.m. for its final match of the regular season. DePaul's six graduating seniors: Donna Brown, Allison Dennemann, Mireya Garcia, Molly Murrihy, Emma Price and Meredith Wallace will be honored prior to Saturday's match. Fans can catch the action streaming live on FloSports.
Team Stats
VU
DePaul
Kills
58
66
Errors
17
23
Attempts
146
156
Hitting %
.281
.276
Points
70
79
Assists
52
56
Aces
3
7
Blocks
9
6
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
15
Aces
1
Blocks
2
Kills
13
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Players Mentioned
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