Friday, November 5
Queens, N.Y.
6:00 P.M. CT
DePaul University
at
St. John's
Volleyball Travels East to Visit St. John’s and Seton Hall
11/4/2021 10:30:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Blue Demons go for season sweep over Red Storm, Pirates
CHICAGO – The DePaul women's volleyball team will hit the road for a pair of matches at St. John's and Seton Hall Nov. 5-6 as BIG EAST play heads into the final stretch with postseason implications on the line.
The Blue Demons will visit the Red Storm at Carnesecca Arena on Friday, Nov. 5 with first serve set for 6 p.m. CT before traveling south to Walsh Gym to take on the Pirates on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Friday's match will be streamed live on ESPN3 while Saturday's match can be seen on FloSports.
Demon Doings:
The Blue Demons enter the weekend with six conference matches remaining and sit in fifth place in the BIG EAST standings, just outside of the postseason picture. Last weekend, the Blue Demons picked up a four-set win over Providence before running into No. 24 Creighton and suffering a 3-0 loss at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
In a balanced attack for the Blue Demons, Jill Pressly leads the way with 3.53 kills per set on the season and adds 2.86 digs per set as a six-rotation player. Graduate right side Emma Price bolsters the offense with 2.31 kills per set and is just two kills away from reaching 1,000 in her career. Donna Brown is potent in the middle, leading the team in blocks and hitting percentage at a .340 clip on the season.
Libero Rachel Krasowski ranks third in the BIG EAST with 4.71 digs per set to anchor the defense. Brown's 85 blocks on the season is good for 10th in the league.
Setters Ashley Cudiamat, Phoenix Lee and Molly Murrihy have all shared time directing the Blue Demons 6-2 offense. Cudiamat has totaled a team-high 469 assists in her freshman campaign to average 5.79 per set.
DePaul is 5-4 in road matches on the season including 2-3 in conference play.
Scouting the Competition:
St. John's -- The Red Storm enter weekend action with a 14-12 overall record and 5-7 mark in league play. Last weekend, St. John's went on the road and picked up a five-set win over Georgetown before falling to Villanova 3-2. Senior right side Rachele Rastelli has led the way for SJU averaging 4.77 kills per set to lead the BIG EAST. Rastelli boasts one of the most lethal arms in the country, sitting third in the nation in points and ranking fifth in total kills. Freshman outside Giorgia Walther has aided the attack with 2.99 kills per set. Libero Sheena Yoshioka has totaled a team-high 281 digs in the 2021 campaign.
Seton Hall -- The Pirates enter the final stretch of BIG EAST play with a 4-8 record in conference action and 12-14 mark overall. Last weekend, Seton Hall fell to Villanova 3-1 before taking down Georgetown in four sets for the weekend split. The Pirates boast four attackers averaging two or more kills per set led by sophomore outside hitter Peri Lucas on the outside with 2.64 kills per set. Libero Anna Holland leads the Pirates defense with 3.67 digs per set.
Series Stuff Seton Hall holds the all-time series lead over DePaul 19-4. The Blue Demons have won three in a row in the series after picking up a 3-0 victory over the Pirates at McGrath-Phillips Arena on Oct. 15. The Red Storm have an 18-7 advantage over the Blue Demons after DePaul picked up its first win over St. John's since 2017 in five-set fashion on Oct. 16.
Rising in the RPI: In the latest release of the NCAA RPI, a key postseason ranking metric, the Blue Demons moved up 15 spots and sit at a season-best 62. The BIG EAST boasts five squads in the top 100 with Creighton and Marquette leading the way at 11 and 14, respectively. UConn landed just in front of the Blue Demons at 61 while St. John's rounds out the top five at 88. DePaul began the season with a ranking of 109.
From Head Coach Marie Zidek: "It took us the full length of five sets to beat St Johns last time largely in part to Rastelli's attack. She may be the best proven arm in conference this year. We relied heavily on the strength of our entire team to get that win, and that will be the same this weekend. Can the team keep everyone else quiet and be a bit better on her than we were last time while producing the same amount of offense? Our balance on defense helps us stay balanced on offense. Seton Hall requires you to access your offense over and over again. These matches are perfect matchups for us in a month where it's easy to fall in love with volleyball all over again and leave it all on the line for your seniors."
Up Next: The Blue Demons will remain on the road for a pair of matches at Butler and Xavier, Nov. 12 and 14. The two matches will mark the first meeting between the two programs in the 2021 fall season.
For all of the latest on DePaul Women's Volleyball, stay tuned to depaulbluedemons.com and follow theteam on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The Blue Demons will visit the Red Storm at Carnesecca Arena on Friday, Nov. 5 with first serve set for 6 p.m. CT before traveling south to Walsh Gym to take on the Pirates on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Friday's match will be streamed live on ESPN3 while Saturday's match can be seen on FloSports.
Demon Doings:
The Blue Demons enter the weekend with six conference matches remaining and sit in fifth place in the BIG EAST standings, just outside of the postseason picture. Last weekend, the Blue Demons picked up a four-set win over Providence before running into No. 24 Creighton and suffering a 3-0 loss at McGrath-Phillips Arena.
In a balanced attack for the Blue Demons, Jill Pressly leads the way with 3.53 kills per set on the season and adds 2.86 digs per set as a six-rotation player. Graduate right side Emma Price bolsters the offense with 2.31 kills per set and is just two kills away from reaching 1,000 in her career. Donna Brown is potent in the middle, leading the team in blocks and hitting percentage at a .340 clip on the season.
Libero Rachel Krasowski ranks third in the BIG EAST with 4.71 digs per set to anchor the defense. Brown's 85 blocks on the season is good for 10th in the league.
Setters Ashley Cudiamat, Phoenix Lee and Molly Murrihy have all shared time directing the Blue Demons 6-2 offense. Cudiamat has totaled a team-high 469 assists in her freshman campaign to average 5.79 per set.
DePaul is 5-4 in road matches on the season including 2-3 in conference play.
Scouting the Competition:
St. John's -- The Red Storm enter weekend action with a 14-12 overall record and 5-7 mark in league play. Last weekend, St. John's went on the road and picked up a five-set win over Georgetown before falling to Villanova 3-2. Senior right side Rachele Rastelli has led the way for SJU averaging 4.77 kills per set to lead the BIG EAST. Rastelli boasts one of the most lethal arms in the country, sitting third in the nation in points and ranking fifth in total kills. Freshman outside Giorgia Walther has aided the attack with 2.99 kills per set. Libero Sheena Yoshioka has totaled a team-high 281 digs in the 2021 campaign.
Seton Hall -- The Pirates enter the final stretch of BIG EAST play with a 4-8 record in conference action and 12-14 mark overall. Last weekend, Seton Hall fell to Villanova 3-1 before taking down Georgetown in four sets for the weekend split. The Pirates boast four attackers averaging two or more kills per set led by sophomore outside hitter Peri Lucas on the outside with 2.64 kills per set. Libero Anna Holland leads the Pirates defense with 3.67 digs per set.
Series Stuff Seton Hall holds the all-time series lead over DePaul 19-4. The Blue Demons have won three in a row in the series after picking up a 3-0 victory over the Pirates at McGrath-Phillips Arena on Oct. 15. The Red Storm have an 18-7 advantage over the Blue Demons after DePaul picked up its first win over St. John's since 2017 in five-set fashion on Oct. 16.
Rising in the RPI: In the latest release of the NCAA RPI, a key postseason ranking metric, the Blue Demons moved up 15 spots and sit at a season-best 62. The BIG EAST boasts five squads in the top 100 with Creighton and Marquette leading the way at 11 and 14, respectively. UConn landed just in front of the Blue Demons at 61 while St. John's rounds out the top five at 88. DePaul began the season with a ranking of 109.
From Head Coach Marie Zidek: "It took us the full length of five sets to beat St Johns last time largely in part to Rastelli's attack. She may be the best proven arm in conference this year. We relied heavily on the strength of our entire team to get that win, and that will be the same this weekend. Can the team keep everyone else quiet and be a bit better on her than we were last time while producing the same amount of offense? Our balance on defense helps us stay balanced on offense. Seton Hall requires you to access your offense over and over again. These matches are perfect matchups for us in a month where it's easy to fall in love with volleyball all over again and leave it all on the line for your seniors."
Up Next: The Blue Demons will remain on the road for a pair of matches at Butler and Xavier, Nov. 12 and 14. The two matches will mark the first meeting between the two programs in the 2021 fall season.
For all of the latest on DePaul Women's Volleyball, stay tuned to depaulbluedemons.com and follow theteam on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Players Mentioned
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