DePaul University Athletics
Saturday, August 15
DeKalb, Ill.
12 p.m.
DePaul University
at
Northern Illinois
Blue Demons Open Fall with Exhibition at NIU
8/14/2026 3:51:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
Marie Zidek begins ninth season at the helm
DeKALB, Ill. – DePaul volleyball opens its 2026 fall slate Saturday, Aug. 15 with a noon exhibition at Northern Illinois. The Blue Demons will take on the Huskies at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Ill. Live stats and streaming will not be available for the match.
"This exhibition is a great opportunity for us as we continue preparing for the 2026 season," said head coach Marie Zidek. "Going on the road to play NIU on its home court will allow us to see how our group handles a new environment, match pressure and the energy that comes with playing in front of a crowd."
DePaul returns 13 players from last season's squad while welcoming five newcomers to the roster, including freshmen Caroline Wright, Jocelyn Paige, Sage Meidroth and Catalina Alvizuri, along with transfer Leonor Polezzi. The Blue Demons return a strong group of contributors from a season ago, led by sophomore Kendall Timme, who became the first player in program history to earn BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year honors. Timme also earned All-BIG EAST and unanimous All-Freshman recognition after averaging 3.27 kills and 4.01 points per set.
The Blue Demons also return outside hitter Morgan Stewart, who averaged 3.22 kills and 2.62 digs per set in 2025, middle blocker Jade Dudley-Epps, who posted 2.99 kills and 2.07 digs per set while hitting .289, and right side Isabela Tavares Salomon, who averaged 3.11 kills per set while hitting .245. Setter Amanda Saeger returns to direct the offense after averaging 8.84 assists per set last season.
DePaul enters a challenging, yet exciting 2026 campaign that features 17 home matches, including an eight-match homestand from Sept. 2-19. DePaul will host AVCA preseason No. 1 Nebraska at Wintrust Arena on Sept. 4, while No. 10 Penn State, No. 13 Creighton, RV Villanova and RV Marquette headline the rest of its fall schedule.
"We've had the advantage of a deep roster during this first phase of preseason, which has helped us maintain a high standard while installing our systems," said coach Zidek. "This match will give a lot of players the opportunity to take on meaningful responsibility and show how we respond together in a road setting. I'm looking forward to seeing different players step up, meet the moment and compete."
Huskie Report
UP NEXT
DePaul closes its preseason at home against Iowa Saturday, Aug. 22 with first serve set for 3 p.m. CT. Admission to McGrath-Phillips is free for this match only.
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, plus an opportunity to purchase tickets for the Wintrust Arena match against Nebraska. 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!
Tickets for DePaul's Sept. 4 matchup against Nebraska at Wintrust Arena are also on sale now. Courtside seating, premium options and group packages are available. Fans can purchase tickets through the DePaul Ticket Office or visit DePaulBlueDemons.com/Tickets for more information.
"This exhibition is a great opportunity for us as we continue preparing for the 2026 season," said head coach Marie Zidek. "Going on the road to play NIU on its home court will allow us to see how our group handles a new environment, match pressure and the energy that comes with playing in front of a crowd."
DePaul returns 13 players from last season's squad while welcoming five newcomers to the roster, including freshmen Caroline Wright, Jocelyn Paige, Sage Meidroth and Catalina Alvizuri, along with transfer Leonor Polezzi. The Blue Demons return a strong group of contributors from a season ago, led by sophomore Kendall Timme, who became the first player in program history to earn BIG EAST Co-Freshman of the Year honors. Timme also earned All-BIG EAST and unanimous All-Freshman recognition after averaging 3.27 kills and 4.01 points per set.
The Blue Demons also return outside hitter Morgan Stewart, who averaged 3.22 kills and 2.62 digs per set in 2025, middle blocker Jade Dudley-Epps, who posted 2.99 kills and 2.07 digs per set while hitting .289, and right side Isabela Tavares Salomon, who averaged 3.11 kills per set while hitting .245. Setter Amanda Saeger returns to direct the offense after averaging 8.84 assists per set last season.
DePaul enters a challenging, yet exciting 2026 campaign that features 17 home matches, including an eight-match homestand from Sept. 2-19. DePaul will host AVCA preseason No. 1 Nebraska at Wintrust Arena on Sept. 4, while No. 10 Penn State, No. 13 Creighton, RV Villanova and RV Marquette headline the rest of its fall schedule.
"We've had the advantage of a deep roster during this first phase of preseason, which has helped us maintain a high standard while installing our systems," said coach Zidek. "This match will give a lot of players the opportunity to take on meaningful responsibility and show how we respond together in a road setting. I'm looking forward to seeing different players step up, meet the moment and compete."
Huskie Report
- Northern Illinois finished the 2025 season 13-14 overall and 6-12 in conference play, missing the MAC Tournament.
- Sondra D'Amore enters her fourth season as NIU's head coach after taking over the program in December 2022. Prior to NIU, D'Amore spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Loyola Chicago, helping the Ramblers to back-to-back regular-season conference championships in 2021 and 2022.
- D'Amore guided the Huskies to a 7-2 start in 2025, their best opening since 2011, while NIU won two early-season invitationals and posted a winning home record for the fifth time since 2015.
- Ava Grevengoed paced the Huskies with 2.75 kills and 2.23 digs per set last season while surpassing 500 career kills and digs.
- At setter, Kylie Schulze averaged 4.87 assists per set and 1.88 digs per set in 2025.
- Rylea Alvin posted a .251 hitting percentage and averaged 1.19 blocks per set.
UP NEXT
DePaul closes its preseason at home against Iowa Saturday, Aug. 22 with first serve set for 3 p.m. CT. Admission to McGrath-Phillips is free for this match only.
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, plus an opportunity to purchase tickets for the Wintrust Arena match against Nebraska. 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!
Tickets for DePaul's Sept. 4 matchup against Nebraska at Wintrust Arena are also on sale now. Courtside seating, premium options and group packages are available. Fans can purchase tickets through the DePaul Ticket Office or visit DePaulBlueDemons.com/Tickets for more information.
Players Mentioned
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