DePaul University
4-3,0-0Big East
St. Thomas
2-6,0-0Summit League
Blue Demons Sweep St. Thomas
9/8/2023 9:48:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
DePaul led by a balanced offense to win fourth-straight
CHICAGO - DePaul volleyball won their fourth straight match on Friday night with a 3-0 sweep over the St. Thomas Tommies (25-21, 25-20, 25-23). The match served as the squad's eighth set win in a row.
The Blue Demons (4-3) were led by a balanced attack from Jill Pressly with 12 kills and Bailey Nelson with 11. Sophomore Katelynn Oxley bested her career-high with eight kills, hitting .538 percent on 13 attempts.Â
Senior libero Rachel Krasowski tallied 15 digs throughout the match, while Maggie Jones and Ashley Cudiamat added 22 and 20 assists, respectively. Freshman Meghan Scholz totaled five blocks on the night.
"Such a fun match to be a part of. St. Thomas is a good volleyball team with a setter that dictates pace and flow," said head coach Marie Zidek. "Our team did a nice job of shutting down their best attack from the middle and slide, and we were able to get back on in our dig to transition. We weathered some instability offensively extremely well tonight. Bent but didn't break and when we needed kills everyone chipped in their kill in the red zone to get us to 25 first. Really proud of this team. That's the most we have ever collaborated and stuck together yet this season. The best is still yet to come."
St. Thomas (2-6) was led by Kaitlynn Peterson with nine kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE: After falling behind early, Oxley brought the score even at six with an assist from Cudiamat. The Blue Demons then earned three unanswered points on two errors from St. Thomas and another kill by Oxley. Some back-and-forth action found the Demons and the Tommies even once again at 12. Cudiamat's sixth assist of the night helped bring DePaul up, 19-16, before she served up the set-winning point and earned her eighth assist with a kill from Nelson.
SET TWO: Nelson's sixth kill of the night put the Blue Demons ahead, 8-3, before she and Cudiamat combined to replay the final point and assist from the first set, widening the DePaul lead to 12-4. St. Thomas put forth a number of efforts to make a comeback, but kills from Oxley, Pressley, and Scholz created a 20-11 gap that the Tommies couldn't overcome. DePaul took the Tommies to set point again, 24-19, before an error from St. Thomas conceded the second set to the Blue Demons.
SET THREE: St. Thomas grabbed an early 6-2 lead in the final set of the night, but DePaul quickly fought back to even the points at seven with a kill from Pressly. The Tommies and Blue Demons traded blows before St. Thomas put themselves in front again, 16-12. Gritty performances by the Blue Demons, including three more kills from Pressly, saw DePaul grab the lead and put the Tommies at match point, 24-22. St. Thomas earned one final point before Audrey Klemp's kill won the set, 25-23, and the match for the Blue Demons, 3-0.
UP NEXT
The Blue Demons conclude their home slate on Saturday when they take on the Evansville Purple Aces. First serve from McGrath-Phillips Arena at 5 p.m. and will be streamed on FloSports.
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2023 TICKET INFORMATION Â
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.
