DePaul University Athletics
Friday, November 26
Milwaukee, Wis.
3:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
vs
Creighton
Blue Demons Meet Creighton in BIG EAST Semifinals Friday Afternoon
11/25/2021 8:33:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
DePaul makes first BIG EAST tournament appearance on Friday
MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The DePaul women's volleyball team is set to make their first appearance in the BIG EAST Championship on Friday, Nov. 26 when the fourth-seeded Blue Demons meet No. 1 seed Creighton at the Al McGuire Center.
First serve is set for 3 p.m. with all of the action streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network carried on FloSports. Bob Brainerd and Michelle Griffin-Wenzel will bring you the action with Alexis Downie on the sideline.
The Blue Demons enter the postseason on a six-match win streak and put up their best regular season record in the past 20 seasons with a mark of 19-11. DePaul's 12 BIG EAST victories are the most since joining the league in 2005.
A trio of All-BIG EAST selections in Donna Brown, Jill Pressly, and Emma Price lead the balanced attack for the Blue Demons. Brown leads the conference in hitting percentage at a .382 clip in conference matches while ranking ninth in the league in blocks with a total of 65. Pressly leads the Blue Demons in kills with 3.21 per set while also chipping in 2.49 digs per set. Price has tallied double figure kills in five of the last six matches hitting at .383 in that span.
Sophomore outside hitter Hanna Karl has been on a tear lately, named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll in back-to-back weeks, after tallying three double-doubles in the last four matches. Libero Rachel Krasowski is averaging 4.07 digs per set while Molly Murrihy runs the offense at 5.64 assists per set.
Head coach Marie Zidek and her staff of Erin Higgins and Nick Vogel were recognized as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year after leading DePaul to new heights in the 2021 campaign.
Scouting the Bluejays
Creighton enters the weekend with a 28-3 record and tied for the league-lead with a 16-2 mark. The Bluejays have claimed eight consecutive regular season crowns. BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Norah Sis leads the way with 3.63 kills per set and 2.98 digs per set. Setter Kendra Wait was tabbed to the All-Freshman Team after averaging 10.53 assists per set to go along 3.06 digs per set. Senior outside Jaela Zimmerman and libero Abby Bottomley were also named to the All-BIG EAST team. Bottomley leads the squad with 4.93 digs per set while Zimmerman leads the attack with 3.71 kills per set.
Series History
The Bluejays have taken the previous 18 meetings after the Blue Demons won the first meeting between the programs in 2001, the same season DePaul punched their ticket to the 2001 NCAA Tournament. In the previous two matchups this season, Creighton swept DePaul.
RPI Update
The latest RPI release ranks DePaul at 59, dropping just three spots from the previous week's rankings. The BIG EAST boasts five teams in the top-100 with Creighton coming in at 12, followed closely by Marquette at 16. UConn follows DePaul at 82 while St. John's rounds out the top-five at 100. The Blue Demons began the season at 109.
From Head Coach Marie Zidek: "What a great opportunity for our group to go against Creighton this post season. The team sat down for scout and marked it as the 5th time we've prepared for them in the calendar year, so our players basically know everybody and their tendencies almost better than the staff does. Zimmermann and Sis are going to get their kills, so it really boils down to using the opportunities we do get to match them closely enough in the offensive categories and to create some end of game situations where we've been battle tested all year. We will have to once again count on our fundamental ball control skills in passing, defense, second ball setting and serving strategy to get us into a competitive situation with them. We are heading in with tremendous momentum and have found ways to win late in the season when hit with some tremendous adversity. If anything, this group looks forward to pressure, and we couldn't be more excited to be together for post season."
What's at Stake: The winner of Friday's match will meet the winner of No. 2 Marquette and No. 3 UConn in the BIG EAST Final scheduled for Saturday, November 27 at 1 p.m. The championship match will air nationally on FS2. The winner of Saturday's match will earn an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
For all the latest on the DePaul women's volleyball team stay tuned to depaulbluedemons.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
First serve is set for 3 p.m. with all of the action streamed live on the BIG EAST Digital Network carried on FloSports. Bob Brainerd and Michelle Griffin-Wenzel will bring you the action with Alexis Downie on the sideline.
The Blue Demons enter the postseason on a six-match win streak and put up their best regular season record in the past 20 seasons with a mark of 19-11. DePaul's 12 BIG EAST victories are the most since joining the league in 2005.
A trio of All-BIG EAST selections in Donna Brown, Jill Pressly, and Emma Price lead the balanced attack for the Blue Demons. Brown leads the conference in hitting percentage at a .382 clip in conference matches while ranking ninth in the league in blocks with a total of 65. Pressly leads the Blue Demons in kills with 3.21 per set while also chipping in 2.49 digs per set. Price has tallied double figure kills in five of the last six matches hitting at .383 in that span.
Sophomore outside hitter Hanna Karl has been on a tear lately, named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll in back-to-back weeks, after tallying three double-doubles in the last four matches. Libero Rachel Krasowski is averaging 4.07 digs per set while Molly Murrihy runs the offense at 5.64 assists per set.
Head coach Marie Zidek and her staff of Erin Higgins and Nick Vogel were recognized as the BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year after leading DePaul to new heights in the 2021 campaign.
Scouting the Bluejays
Creighton enters the weekend with a 28-3 record and tied for the league-lead with a 16-2 mark. The Bluejays have claimed eight consecutive regular season crowns. BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Norah Sis leads the way with 3.63 kills per set and 2.98 digs per set. Setter Kendra Wait was tabbed to the All-Freshman Team after averaging 10.53 assists per set to go along 3.06 digs per set. Senior outside Jaela Zimmerman and libero Abby Bottomley were also named to the All-BIG EAST team. Bottomley leads the squad with 4.93 digs per set while Zimmerman leads the attack with 3.71 kills per set.
Series History
The Bluejays have taken the previous 18 meetings after the Blue Demons won the first meeting between the programs in 2001, the same season DePaul punched their ticket to the 2001 NCAA Tournament. In the previous two matchups this season, Creighton swept DePaul.
RPI Update
The latest RPI release ranks DePaul at 59, dropping just three spots from the previous week's rankings. The BIG EAST boasts five teams in the top-100 with Creighton coming in at 12, followed closely by Marquette at 16. UConn follows DePaul at 82 while St. John's rounds out the top-five at 100. The Blue Demons began the season at 109.
From Head Coach Marie Zidek: "What a great opportunity for our group to go against Creighton this post season. The team sat down for scout and marked it as the 5th time we've prepared for them in the calendar year, so our players basically know everybody and their tendencies almost better than the staff does. Zimmermann and Sis are going to get their kills, so it really boils down to using the opportunities we do get to match them closely enough in the offensive categories and to create some end of game situations where we've been battle tested all year. We will have to once again count on our fundamental ball control skills in passing, defense, second ball setting and serving strategy to get us into a competitive situation with them. We are heading in with tremendous momentum and have found ways to win late in the season when hit with some tremendous adversity. If anything, this group looks forward to pressure, and we couldn't be more excited to be together for post season."
What's at Stake: The winner of Friday's match will meet the winner of No. 2 Marquette and No. 3 UConn in the BIG EAST Final scheduled for Saturday, November 27 at 1 p.m. The championship match will air nationally on FS2. The winner of Saturday's match will earn an automatic bid to the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
For all the latest on the DePaul women's volleyball team stay tuned to depaulbluedemons.com and follow the team on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
Players Mentioned
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