DePaul University
17-13,9-9Big East
No. 4 Xavier
18-12,11-7Big East
DePaul Takes Down Xavier for First-Ever BIG EAST Tournament Match Win
11/22/2023 9:04:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Team totals 68 kills on .306 hitting percentage
MILWAUKEE, WIS. - DePaul volleyball took down Xavier, 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-22), Wednesday evening. The win marks the first-ever match win in a BIG EAST Tournament game for the Blue Demons.
DePaul (17-13, 9-9 BIG EAST) was led by Jill Pressly with 24 kills and 12 digs. Pressly recorded her 24 kills on .340 hitting percentage and added a service ace. The senior tallied her 16th double-double of the season and 39th of her career.
Graduate student Audrey Klemp poured in 20 kills with a .385 clip alongside two blocks and a dig. Hanna Karl added eight terminations of her own and two solo blocks.Â
Bailey Nelson and Aly Kindelberger each added in six kills on the night. Freshman Nora Mannion recorded eight digs, four assists and two service aces. One of her four assists secured the winning point in set three.
Senior libero Rachel Krasowski led the team in digs, totaling 18 in the match. Ashley Cudiamat added 10 digs to go along with 24 assists to take home her fifth double-double of the season. Maggie Jones chipped in 25 assists and eight digs.
"Wow, what a battle of great volleyball on both sides," said head coach Marie Zidek. "O'Reilly is really a special volleyball player and she had her team firing on every cylinder tonight. We made some nice adjustments on our block and defense and leaned into our style of game to match them kill for kill. We served tough down the long run and everybody stepped up when we needed to push from behind to come back in the fourth set. Wow what a special night with a special team. I would freaking bet on them under pressure every time."
Xavier (18-12, 11-7 BIG EAST) was led by Emma Grace with 18 kills and 12 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE: Both sides traded points in the early stages of the set and when the Musketeers looked to break away and take a lead, a kill by Nelson and a block from Oxley and Pressly tied the match, 12-12. Xavier took the lead again, but the Blue Demons stayed within reached. Xavier took a 23-20 lead, but Pressly cut it to two with a kill. The Musketeers took the set win with a kill.Â
SET TWO: Klemp recorded her ninth kill of the night, tying the match at 6-6. An ace from Mannion gave the Blue Demons a slight 9-8 lead. Two quick kills from Pressly and another from Nelson put DePaul up by two. A 4-1 run by the Blue Demons, highlighted by an ace from Pressly, put the squad up by four. The Musketeers came back to tie up the match, 17-17, but kills from Kindelberger and Pressly gave the Blue Demons a two point lead. A Xavier error put the Blue Demons at set point, and Klemp hammered home a kill to even the match.
SET THREE: Two quick points from Pressly gave DePaul an early lead. A 3-0 surge with a block from Oxley and Klemp put the Blue Demons up, 5-2. A 10-3 run by the Blue Demons gave DePaul a 15-6 lead. Three quick kills from Xavier cut DePaul's lead down to five, but not before the Blue Demons profited off of a few Xavier errors and a kill from Klemp to take a seven point lead. Pressly nabbed three kills to end the set and take the win.Â
SET FOUR: Each side traded points, but a 3-0 surge for Xavier put them ahead by two. Kills from Kindelberger and Pressly, in addition to a Xavier error, tied the match, 9-9. Back-and-forth action ensued and the Musketeers pulled ahead with a slight two point lead. Pressly's 24th kill of the match tied the match, 20-20, and the second solo block of the night for Karl put DePaul up by two. Terminations from Klemp and Karl sealed the match for the Blue Demons.
UP NEXT
DePaul will meet No. 1 seeded Creighton in the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinals on Friday, Nov. 24. First serve from the Al McGuire Center is set for 3 p.m. CT, with coverage coming on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
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