DePaul University Athletics
Friday, October 16
South Orange, N.J.
4 p.m.
DePaul University
at
Seton Hall
DePaul Heads East for Road Tests at Seton Hall and St. John’s
10/15/2026 11:43:00 AM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Blue Demons eye key BIG EAST contests in New England
NEW JERSEY/NEW YORK – Back on the road for a pair of BIG EAST Conference tests, DePaul volleyball (12-5, 4-2 BIG EAST) visits Seton Hall (8-10, 0-6 BIG EAST) on Friday at 4 p.m. CT and St. John's (15-4, 5-1 BIG EAST) on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT. Both matches will stream live on ESPN+.
"The BIG EAST season has come down to its final 10 matches, with eight teams still in tight contention for the final grouping of four teams that qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament," said head coach Marie Zidek. "Six of those eight teams, including us, are fighting inside the top 100 from an RPI standpoint, so the margins in this league continue to be razor thin. I am excited about where our group has positioned itself, and I am really proud to be one of the teams still fighting one match at a time to crawl closer to the top."
The Blue Demons sit fourth in the BIG EAST standings at 4-2, standing third among BIG EAST teams in the NCAA RPI behind Creighton and Xavier. DePaul's No. 59 RPI mark matches its second-best in program history, trailing only the program-record No. 56 set in November 2021.
LAST TIME OUT
DePaul split a two-match BIG EAST homestand at McGrath-Phillips Arena last weekend, opening with a 3-1 victory over Villanova on Friday before dropping a hard-fought, five-set battle to Georgetown on Saturday (23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 12-15).
Kendall Timme powered the attack against Villanova with a match-high 18 kills, while senior setter Leonor Polezzi notched her seventh double-double of the season with 37 assists and 10 digs. Against Georgetown, four Blue Demons posted double-digit kills, led by Timme and Isabela Tavares Salomon, while Polezzi distributed 44 assists.
"Seton Hall and St. John's have fantastic home win percentages," said Zidek. "Not many teams are able to go into this weekend and come out of it with two wins. But alas, if we want to be in that top four grouping, that is exactly the moxie it will take. I love how the team is playing and still building right now, and all of our preseason and early league matches have prepared us as well as we can possibly be prepared to face this next chapter of our crucible head-on. This weekend is about discipline in creating counterattack opportunities paired with the courage to keep going for it."
PIRATE PROFILE
RED STORM SCOUT
DEPAUL DEBRIEF
FOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS
Stay up to date with all things DePaul Volleyball at DePaulBlueDemons.com. For real-time updates, follow the Blue Demons on X, Instagram, and Facebook, or sign up for email updates and text alerts.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season ticket memberships are now live for the 2026 DePaul Volleyball season! Season ticket memberships include access to all 15 anticipated regular season matches at McGrath-Phillips Arena in Lincoln Park. Season tickets are available beginning at $79 for general admission and $129 for courtside seating! Want to bring your team to the match? Group ticket deposits are also available for parties of 10 or more. Visit DePaulBlueDemons.com/Tickets to reserve your seats today!
"The BIG EAST season has come down to its final 10 matches, with eight teams still in tight contention for the final grouping of four teams that qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament," said head coach Marie Zidek. "Six of those eight teams, including us, are fighting inside the top 100 from an RPI standpoint, so the margins in this league continue to be razor thin. I am excited about where our group has positioned itself, and I am really proud to be one of the teams still fighting one match at a time to crawl closer to the top."
The Blue Demons sit fourth in the BIG EAST standings at 4-2, standing third among BIG EAST teams in the NCAA RPI behind Creighton and Xavier. DePaul's No. 59 RPI mark matches its second-best in program history, trailing only the program-record No. 56 set in November 2021.
LAST TIME OUT
DePaul split a two-match BIG EAST homestand at McGrath-Phillips Arena last weekend, opening with a 3-1 victory over Villanova on Friday before dropping a hard-fought, five-set battle to Georgetown on Saturday (23-25, 25-18, 25-21, 22-25, 12-15).
Kendall Timme powered the attack against Villanova with a match-high 18 kills, while senior setter Leonor Polezzi notched her seventh double-double of the season with 37 assists and 10 digs. Against Georgetown, four Blue Demons posted double-digit kills, led by Timme and Isabela Tavares Salomon, while Polezzi distributed 44 assists.
"Seton Hall and St. John's have fantastic home win percentages," said Zidek. "Not many teams are able to go into this weekend and come out of it with two wins. But alas, if we want to be in that top four grouping, that is exactly the moxie it will take. I love how the team is playing and still building right now, and all of our preseason and early league matches have prepared us as well as we can possibly be prepared to face this next chapter of our crucible head-on. This weekend is about discipline in creating counterattack opportunities paired with the courage to keep going for it."
PIRATE PROFILE
- Seton Hall enters Friday seeking to end a conference skid after road drops at Providence (3-0) and UConn (3-1). The Pirates are 0-6 in BIG EAST play and 3-3 at home in Walsh Gymnasium.
- Offensively, Daria Safian leads the Pirates' attack, with Alondra Villanueva providing balanced production alongside a team-high 16 service aces.
- Middle blocker Maddy Loiselle recently surpassed 400 career kills after hitting .348 with 10 digs against UConn.
- Setter Gwen Adler runs the offense with 443 assists, while libero Rylee Nelson paces the defense with 197 digs.
- Seton Hall leads the all-time series 22-11, but DePaul has won the last five meetings between the two programs.
RED STORM SCOUT
- St. John's enters the weekend tied atop the BIG EAST standings at 5-1 (15-4 overall) following a road sweep at UConn (3-1) and Providence (3-1).
- Head coach Joanne Persico, in her 33rd season, leads a Red Storm offense that ranks fourth in conference play in kills (12.83 per set) and assists (11.96 per set).
- Middle blocker Chloe Bell leads the BIG EAST in conference-match hitting percentage (.408) and has recorded 58 total blocks.
- Libero Rashanny Solano Smith leads the BIG EAST with 26 service aces and 5.71 digs per set.
- Carola Tesoro anchors the service game with 23 aces on the season.
DEPAUL DEBRIEF
- Record Start: DePaul's 12-5 overall record marks its best 17-match start to a season since 2015.
- Setting the Pace: Senior setter Leonor Polezzi ranks second in the BIG EAST in both assists per set (8.76) and service aces per set (0.63, 34 total).
- Attack Leaders: Kendall Timme ranks third in the BIG EAST in kills per set (3.61) and points per set (4.08). Isabela Tavares Salomon adds 3.11 kills per set on a .283 hitting percentage.
- Aces Wild: DePaul ranks second in the BIG EAST with 1.73 service aces per set (109 total).
FOLLOW THE BLUE DEMONS
Stay up to date with all things DePaul Volleyball at DePaulBlueDemons.com. For real-time updates, follow the Blue Demons on X, Instagram, and Facebook, or sign up for email updates and text alerts.
TICKET INFORMATION
Season ticket memberships are now live for the 2026 DePaul Volleyball season! Season ticket memberships include access to all 15 anticipated regular season matches at McGrath-Phillips Arena in Lincoln Park. Season tickets are available beginning at $79 for general admission and $129 for courtside seating! Want to bring your team to the match? Group ticket deposits are also available for parties of 10 or more. Visit DePaulBlueDemons.com/Tickets to reserve your seats today!
Players Mentioned
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