Blue Demons Ready for Chicagoland Matchups

CHICAGO - DePaul volleyball closes out their non-conference portion of the season against a pair of local rivals. The Blue Demons will head to Rogers Park as they take on the Ramblers on Friday, Sept. 15 at 6 p.m. On Saturday, DePaul will host the UIC Flames at McGrath-Phillips Arena with first serve set for 6 p.m.

"I would play Loyola weekly if I could," said head coach Marie Zidek. "They always bring the best out of us. They've played some good competition and will be ready to defend their home court. We play each other's rhythms and styles well. It will come down to stealing kills away with our block and D and then responding with kill opportunities of our own. We will also have to attack them with a tough serve to disrupt their rhythms early."

"UIC will be a other great battle. They got us last year in GAP-GO transition. Becca and their setters have phenomenal connection. This match will be a great battle of which setter can get their team to a higher offensive gear first."

SCOUTING THE RAMBLERS

Loyola sits at 2-6, earning wins over then-No. 16 Purdue and Duke. Three losses have come at the hands of top-25 opponents such as No. 18 Creighton, No. 18 Tennessee and No. 9 Pitt.
Karlie McNabb leads the offense with 94 kills (3.24 kills per set).
The defense is paced by Grace Hinchman who has 97 digs, good for 4.41 per set.
Bree Borum ranks fourth in the Atlantic 10 in assists, averaging 8.38 per set.
Amanda Berkley is in her sixth season at the helm of the Ramblers.

SCOUTING THE FLAMES

UIC comes into the weekend with a record of 8-3, most recently defeating Northwestern for the first time since 1995. Their only losses come from Western Michigan, Illinois and Dayton.
Ayat Amin has 153 kills (3.56 per set) for the Flames, which ranks sixth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Amin sits at third in the conference in hitting percentage (.382).
Middle blocker Zahria Woodard totaled 52 blocks throughout the season (1.21 per set), which is good for second in the conference.
Justin Ingram enters his seventh season as the leader of the Flames.

SERIES STUFF
Loyola leads the current series, 28-14, but DePaul has won the last two matchups.

The Flames won the last matchup, extending their series lead to 29-19.

BLUE DEMON BITS

The squad is top three in four categories within the BIG EAST conference: first in blocks (2.55 per set), second in assists (12.66 per set) and third in kills (13.38/set) and digs (16.21/set).
Jill Pressly leads the way for the Blue Demons, totaling 121 kills on the season (4.17 per set). Pressly currently ranks second in conference in kills per set.
Meghan Scholz was named BIG EAST Freshman of the Week on Monday after tallying 16 blocks through nine sets. Scholz leads the conference, and team, in blocks (1.35 per set) which is good for 37th in the country and fifth among freshmen.
Senior libero Rachel Krasowski has 143 digs through 29 sets, averaging 4.93 per set which is good for second in the conference.

UP NEXT
DePaul will open up BIG EAST play on Friday, Sept. 22 as they host the Georgetown Hoyas. First serve is set for 7 p.m. Conference play will continue on Saturday as the Villanova Wildcats.

FOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS
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2023 TICKET INFORMATION
Season ticket packages for the 2023 DePaul Volleyball season are available now. Season ticket packages start at just $39 and for a limited time includes an exclusive DePaul flag. Courtside season ticket options are also available for $79. Single-game tickets and Group Ticket Offers are also available and start at $5. Fans can visit DePaulBlueDemons.com/Tickets for more information.

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Players Mentioned

Rachel Krasowski

Jill Pressly

Meghan Scholz