DePaul University Athletics
DePaul University
16-12,9-8Big East
Seton Hall
14-14,8-9Big East
DePaul Punches Ticket to BIG EAST Tournament With Win Over Seton Hall
11/17/2023 10:04:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Blue Demons recorded second-best hitting percentage of the season before win
CHICAGO - DePaul volleyball swept Seton Hall 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17), Friday evening. The win over the Pirates secured a spot in the BIG EAST Tournament, putting the Blue Demons back in postseason play for the second time in program history and first since 2021.
DePaul (16-12, 9-8 BIG EAST) was led by Jill Pressly with 15 kills and nine digs. Pressly hit .414 on the night, a season high and added in three service.Â
Bailey Nelson and Hanna Karl each poured in 10 kills and recorded only three errors a piece. Sophomore Katelynn Oxley added seven terminations of her own with a .700 clip.
Senior libero Rachel Krasowski led the team in digs, recording 23 throughout the match. Maggie Jones and Ashley Cudiamat chipped in 20 assists each.Â
The Blue Demons owned a .333 hitting percentage throughout the match, the second-highest mark of the season. In the third set, the team recorded a .533 clip with 17 kills and one error on 30 attempts.Â
"We took their outsides completely out of the game with our block and defense," said head coach Marie Zidek. "We served very tough tonight and made it very difficult for their offense to get going. Against that Seton Hall squad, you have to be ready to weather a couple of serving runs and beat them in the non-statted out of system, coverage and play extension. We did just that and it kept our offense on most of the night. A big one for us in that this qualifies us for the BIG EAST tournament. Really proud of this group."
Seton Hall (14-14, 8-9 BIG EAST) was led by Perri Lucas with 10 kills.Â
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE:Â Karl grabbed the first point for DePaul, with three consecutive kills from Nelson and back-to-back aces from Pressly gave the Blue Demons a slight 9-7 edge. Seton Hall quickly fought back, with a 6-0 run by the Pirates putting the visitors up, 14-11. A kill from Aly Kindelberger and a pair of kills from Nelson and Pressly allowed DePaul to tie the score back at 14. A 4-0 Blue Demons run, highlighted by back-to-back kills delivered from Karl, broke up the back-and-forth action before a final Seton Hall error secured DePaul the first set, 25-20.
SET TWO: The Blue Demons and Pirates traded blows early on in the set, but three unanswered points for the Blue Demons gave the hosts a slight edge, 11-9. Audrey Klemp and Oxley teamed up for a decisive block to widen DePaul's lead by three before another set of back-to-back kills from Karl and Klemp extended the lead, 19-14. Seton Hall attempted to climb back with a 3-0 run, but kills from Nelson and Pressly secured the set victory.Â
SET THREE: A strong start put the Pirates ahead, 8-5, but two blocks from Kindelberger and an ace from Krasowski put DePaul on a 5-0 run to take a 10-8 lead. Seton Hall evened up the score, but another three unanswered with Kindelberger and Nelson teaming up for back-to-back blocks and a kill from Pressly upped the score to 14-11. A block from Klemp and Oxley helped DePaul go on a 4-0 run, extending the lead by six. A massive dig from Krasowski allowed Cudiamat to set up Karl's 10th kill for set point before a Nelson kill won the match for the Blue Demons, 25-17.
UP NEXT
DePaul will celebrate Senior Day before the last regular season match of the season on Saturday, Nov. 18 as the team hosts St. John's. First serve is set for 6 p.m.
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