DePaul Embarks on Three-Match Road Swing

Friday, March 5

Omaha, Neb.

11:00 A.M. CT

DePaul University

Creighton

3/4/2021 4:36:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Live Video (Friday)Live Video (Saturday)Live Video (Sunday)Live Stats (Friday)Live Stats (Saturday)Live Stats (Sunday)Match Notes

Blue Demons face No. 23 Creighton Friday and Saturday, Northern Iowa on Sunday

CHICAGO – DePaul volleyball hits the road for three matches in three days, March 5-7. The Blue Demons will wrap up BIG EAST play with two matches at No. 23 Creighton set for Friday and Saturday at 11 a.m. DePaul will then travel to Cedar Rapids, Iowa to take on Northern Iowa on Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m.

Matches at Creighton will be streamed on the Creighton Athletics YouTube page with direct links available on the DePaul volleyball schedule page. Sunday's match at Northern Iowa can be seen on ESPN3.

DePaul at a Glance: The Blue Demons enter the weekend as winners of their last three matches. DePaul swept the weekend series against Butler, Feb. 26-27 after splitting a pair of matches against Xavier, Feb. 19-20. Freshman Jill Pressly leads the Blue Demon attack averaging 2.42 kills per set while the right side is bolstered by Emma Price (2.33 k p/s) and Bailey Nelson (2.29 k p/s). Setters Molly Murrihy and Phoenix Lee are both averaging more than five assists per set at 5.46 and 5.22, respectively. Freshman libero Rachel Krasowski, reigning BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week, anchors the defense with 3.383 digs per set through the first six matches. Donna Brown has registered a team-best 27 blocks on the season including nine solo stuffs.

Series Stuff: Creighton leads the all-time series over DePaul, 14-1. The Blue Demons won the first meeting in August of 2001 but the Bluejays have won the last 14 matchups. Sunday marks the sixth all-time meeting between the Northern Iowa and DePaul and the first in 20 years with the last meeting held on September 28, 1990. The Panthers have won four of the previous five matchups.

Scouting Creighton
No. 23 Creighton (4-2) is back in action after a COIVD-19 related pause that forced four BIG EAST matches to be postponed. Last time out, the Bluejays split a pair of matches with then-No. 25 Marquette on Feb. 5-6. Jaela Zimmerman and Keeley Davis, a pair of preseason All-BIG EAST selections, lead the offense averaging 3.58 and 3.21 kills per set, respectively.

Scouting Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa enters Sunday's meeting with a 6-7 record. The Panthers have won four of their last five matches and currently rank fifth in the Missouri Valley. UNI has faced familiar competition in Creighton and Marquette in early season non-conference matches. The Bluejays swept the Panthers on Jan. 24 while the Golden Eagles won in four sets on Jan. 30. Sophomore Emily Holterhaus leads the squad with 3.11 kills per set. Baylee Petersen anchors the back row averaging 3.43 digs per set.

Quotable: Head Coach Marie Zidek on Creighton:

I'm so proud of this team and how well they've managed this shortened season thus far. We had adjustments right out of the gate in pushing our start date for competition back to satisfy our ramp up protocols in January and early February. We took the slow and steady route to ramping our team up physically, mentally, and emotionally knowing we needed to do everything possible to protect our ability to play these eight BIG EAST matches all the while knowing competitive equity was going to be thrown out the window this year. Heading into the weekend, we have fought the hard way to a 3-3 record and have earned the opportunity to take control of our own destiny with these matches this weekend. Pressure is a privilege, and there are pressurized post-season implications written all over both matches at Creighton. Our team has grown significantly from week 1 to week 4 of competition, and we are ready to give our all this weekend and to meet this challenge head on. We will need to play a great offensive game to score at the level Creighton is capable of scoring at – that is no secret. They are unique in that they have three offensive players on roster who are no brainer contenders for conference player of the year, and I think our group is excited to take on the challenge to match them as a TEAM. In recent years, they've also been one of the strongest serving teams that I've seen, so this is a wonderful opportunity to raise our level of team play and continue to be the hunters in this conference.

Next Up: After a weekend on the road, DePaul will return home for a pair of matches against Iowa State, March 12-13. Start times are set for 2 p.m. on Friday and 4 p.m. on Saturday with coverage on DePaul All-Access.