DePaul Defeats Oakland in Five-Set Showdown

Saturday, August 30

Kalamazoo, Mich.

2 p.m.

DePaul University

1-1,0-0Big East

Oakland

0-2,0-0Horizon

Oakland

DePaul

8/30/2025 5:49:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL

Box Score

Eva Hurrle leads defensive effort with 28 digs

Kalamazoo, Mich. – In a five-set battle that featured 23 ties and 12 lead changes, DePaul volleyball defeated Oakland 3-2 (20-25, 17-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-11). The victory marks the first reverse sweep for the Blue Demons since February 20, 2021, against Xavier.

"Wonderful, hard-fought victory from this team," said head coach Marie Zidek.

"Oakland forces you to hold game for two, three, four and even more exchanges in rally. They win a lot through their defense and their setters fix well. Sometimes when you play teams like that it can take a bit for your block to catch up. Our block caught up and we had some game-changers come off the bench to provide a spark that allowed us to play a better offensive game in the second half of this match. Hot serving and courage carried us to the finish. Great team win."

Strong serving came in the form of ten service aces, the first time in double-digit aces for DePaul since the same February 2021 match against Xavier. Six different Blue Demons contributed to the tally from the service line, including consecutive aces for both Luisa Juncu and Morgan Stewart.

Freshman Eva Hurrle anchored the DePaul defense with 28 digs, while Ryan Gorski and Stewart followed behind with 15 digs each.

The squad's 16 total blocks are the most since October 20, 2021, against Marquette. Efforts at the net were propelled by eight blocks from Katelynn Oxley, her most since the 2023 campaign. Stewart and Jade Dudley-Epps also logged five blocks apiece.

On the offensive side, Arden Billingsley and Amanda Saeger split setting responsibilities, tallying 28 and 15 assists, respectively. Kendall Timme earned 11 kills in her DePaul debut, while Stewart's 22 kills and 15 digs represent the first double-double of her career.

Oakland was led by 14 kills from Molly Reck.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET ONE:
Led by kills from Reck, Anika Prisby and Ella Schomer, Oakland jumped out to a 6-2 lead. The Blue Demons bounced back quickly, knotting the set at seven with a pair of kills from Stewart. Even once again at 20 points, the Golden Grizzlies went on a 5-0 scoring run to close the set, 25-20.

SET TWO:
Three 4-0 scoring runs gave Oakland a 14-4 advantage and they never looked back. Despite a late trio of kills from both Stewart and Timme, the Golden Grizzlies took the second set, 25-17.

SET THREE:
Oxley earned two quick kills to set the tone, but the teams swapped points to open the set. Kills from Yagmur Yavuz, Meghan Scholz and Stewart earned the Blue Demons a four-point advantage and forced Oakland into a timeout. Equal at 17 points after three kills from Olivia Rust and two from Schomer, DePaul went on a 4-0 scoring run, led by two service aces from Juncu. After conceding two set points, a Stewart kill earned DePaul the set, 25-22.

SET FOUR:
Neither side jumped in front early, until two Yavuz kills put DePaul ahead, 7-5. The Blue Demons did not relinquish the lead for the rest of the set, with Scholz tallying five kills and Timme posting an additional pair.

SET FIVE:
Down two points early, it was another pair of Timme kills that evened the deciding frame at six apiece. Four consecutive Oakland attack errors gave DePaul an 11-7 lead and they did not look back, with Dudley-Epps and Stewart contributing the final two kills for the Blue Demons. DePaul won the final set, 15-11.

UP NEXT
DePaul finishes its Western Michigan Tournament against the Broncos on Sunday, August 31. The first serve is set for 2 p.m. CT from University Arena and streaming can be found here, on ESPN+.

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