DePaul Volleyball Opens Season At No. 25 Marquette

Friday, February 12

Milwaukee, Wis.

5:00 P.M. CT

DePaul University

Marquette

DePaul Volleyball Opens Season At No. 25 Marquette

2/10/2021 4:23:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Live Video (Friday)Live Video (Saturday)Live Stats DePaul Notes

Blue Demons and Golden Eagles meet for a pair of matches this weekend

CHICAGO –The DePaul volleyball team will open its 2021 Spring campaign on Friday night with the first of two meetings against BIG EAST foe No. 25 Marquette.

The Blue Demons and Golden Eagles will square off at the Al McGuire Center with first serve slated for 5 p.m. CT on Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday evening.

Live stream and live statistics will be available at GoMarquette.com with Patrick Reed and Michelle Griffin-Wenzel handling the commentary responsibilities.

"The team has done such a nice job with COVID-19 protocols and our training camp ramp up both in the fall and this winter to earn this opportunity Friday evening. After a ton of adversity and having to be patient during those ramp ups, we are excited to get tested by a good Marquette team that has reloaded after a strong showing last season" said Head Coach Marie Zidek.

"We have a good idea of what it's going to take be competitive for conference and beyond this year and feel good about the pieces starting to come into place. Friday night will be a long time coming, and we are excited to get after it!"

DePaul enters the 2021 season picked to finish third in the conference's Midwest division just behind nationally ranked Creighton and Marquette. In 2019, the Blue Demons went 14-16 while posting a 6-12 mark in league play for the second-best record since joining the BIG EAST in 2005. The seventh-place conference finish was the highest for DePaul since reconfiguration in 2013-14.

The Blue Demons return seven letterwinners from its 2019 season including unanimous preseason All-BIG EAST selection Donna Brown alongside fellow middle blocker Avarie Evans-Allen. Depth at the right side remains with Emma Price and Bailey Nelson poised to be a forceful duo. Price leads the veteran group in kills per set with 2.46 in 2019. Senior libero Isabelle Banez comes back to anchor the defense after setting a program record in digs in a season with 566 in 2019.

Eight newcomers landed in Lincoln Park in 2020 and are set to make an immediate impact on the program. Zidek welcomed three transfers in junior setter Molly Murrihy and junior outside hitters Meredith Wallace and Allison Dennemann. Zidek alongside assistant coaches Nick Vogel and Erin Higgins welcomed a highly anticipated five-member recruiting class recognized as Honorable Mention by PrepVolleyball.com including Phoenix Lee, Hanna Karl, Jill Pressly, Rachel Krasowski and Sierra Ellison.

No. 25 Marquette (4-2) enters weekend action after splitting a pair of non-conference matches with then-No.19 Creighton. The Golden Eagles pushed the Bluejays to five sets on Friday before posting a 3-0 sweep on Saturday. Taylor Wolf, a senior transfer from Green Bay, leads Marquette in kills (2.70 per set) and assists (4.52 per set) while second on the team in digs (2.91 per set). Preseason All-BIG EAST selections Hope Werch and Hannah Vanden Berg bolster the Golden Eagles attack.

Friday marks the 65th meeting between the two programs. Marquette leads the series 36-28.