DePaul University Athletics
Volleyball Begins BIG EAST Play at Providence, UConn
9/24/2026 4:30:00 PM | WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
DePaul hits the road following eight-straight at home
RHODE ISLAND/CONNECTICUT – DePaul volleyball (8-3, 0-0 BIG EAST) opens conference play this weekend with a pair of road matches on ESPN+, visiting Providence (8-3) on Friday, Sept. 25 at 4 p.m. CT and UConn (7-6) on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m. CT. The trip closes the book on an eight-match homestand that included a state-of-Illinois indoor collegiate single-match attendance record against No. 1 Nebraska, a tight battle against then-No. 12 Penn State, a Chicago Cup title, and a program-record hitting performance by Jade Dudley-Epps, to name a few.
"Not to be overly dramatic, but everything we've done for and around the program from January until now has been 100% focused on optimizing for these eight weeks of BIG EAST league play," said head coach Marie Zidek. "The team knows and understands this. Only 4 teams qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament, and we cannot win a league championship if we are not in that grouping. Our league schedule is also unbalanced, which makes the 4 tiebreak matches especially important. We want to win those in case a head-to-head decision is needed for qualification at the end of the season. Two of them start this weekend."
LAST TIME OUT
DePaul capped its home slate 2-0 at the Chicago Cup, opening with a five-set win over crosstown rival Loyola Chicago (25-23, 20-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13) before sweeping UIC (25-19, 25-23, 28-26) to claim the tournament title and improve to 8-3 on the season. Leonor Polezzi ran the offense with a combined 59 assists, eight service aces and 20 digs while hitting 1.000 (6-0-6), earning her third BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod of the season (Aug. 31, Sept. 14, Sept. 21). Kendall Timme reached double-figure kills in both matches, and Jade Dudley-Epps closed the tournament hitting .556 against UIC.
"The BIG EAST played the toughest non-conference schedule of any of the 31 leagues in the country, and we certainly followed suit," said Zidek. "The league finished with a 62% win percentage against the strongest non-conference scheduling models across those 31 leagues. Everyone is prepared to battle, and there's no doubt teams will look to start strong right out of the gate."
Friar Focus
Huskie Highlights
DePaul DeBrief
"Providence brings one of the more unique offensive schemes in our league, they serve really well, and our defense will need to find balance and counter-attacking opportunities," said Zidek. "UConn has replaced its 7 graduates from last year with fresh and eager players, so both will be really good tests for us. We have prepared through this preseason crucible, and now it's time to find a way when match time comes, no matter what it takes. Margins are thin in-league this year, and you couldn't script these next challenges for our group any better. We are ready to be stretched and to gear up."
Milestone Watch
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!
"Not to be overly dramatic, but everything we've done for and around the program from January until now has been 100% focused on optimizing for these eight weeks of BIG EAST league play," said head coach Marie Zidek. "The team knows and understands this. Only 4 teams qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament, and we cannot win a league championship if we are not in that grouping. Our league schedule is also unbalanced, which makes the 4 tiebreak matches especially important. We want to win those in case a head-to-head decision is needed for qualification at the end of the season. Two of them start this weekend."
LAST TIME OUT
DePaul capped its home slate 2-0 at the Chicago Cup, opening with a five-set win over crosstown rival Loyola Chicago (25-23, 20-25, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13) before sweeping UIC (25-19, 25-23, 28-26) to claim the tournament title and improve to 8-3 on the season. Leonor Polezzi ran the offense with a combined 59 assists, eight service aces and 20 digs while hitting 1.000 (6-0-6), earning her third BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod of the season (Aug. 31, Sept. 14, Sept. 21). Kendall Timme reached double-figure kills in both matches, and Jade Dudley-Epps closed the tournament hitting .556 against UIC.
"The BIG EAST played the toughest non-conference schedule of any of the 31 leagues in the country, and we certainly followed suit," said Zidek. "The league finished with a 62% win percentage against the strongest non-conference scheduling models across those 31 leagues. Everyone is prepared to battle, and there's no doubt teams will look to start strong right out of the gate."
Friar Focus
- Providence enters 8-3 following a two-loss weekend at the Harvard Invitational, falling to Harvard (0-3) and Sacred Heart (2-3)
- Junior Sophia Adkins leads the Friars with 108 kills and was named to the Harvard Invitational All-Tournament Team
- Freshman Aubrey Easterwood leads the BIG EAST in block assists (56) and blocks per set (1.51), and paces Providence with 59.0 total blocks
- Senior Miller McDonald leads the team in assists (201) and service aces (20), and surpassed 2,000 career assists this past weekend
- Providence has posted a .251 team attack percentage while limiting opponents to .149
- 27th-year head coach Margot Royer-Johnson carries a 254-515 record at Providence
- DePaul holds a 16-7 edge in the all-time series and has won 4 of the last 5 meetings with the Friars
Huskie Highlights
- UConn enters 7-6 after going 2-1 at the "For the White & Blue" Tournament
- Helena Einarsdottir and Sydney Borowy earned All-Tournament Team honors, and Einarsdottir added a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod
- Eighth-year head coach Ellen Herman-Kimball carries a 117-93 record at UConn
- DePaul trails 6-14 in the all-time series but has won five straight and 6 of the last 7 meetings with the Huskies, including a sweep last season
DePaul DeBrief
- Leonor Polezzi ranks second in the BIG EAST in assists per set (8.71, 331 total) and service aces per set (0.53, 20 total)
- Kendall Timme leads DePaul with 143 kills, ranking third in the BIG EAST in both kills per set (3.76) and points per set (4.28, 162.5 total); the reigning BIG EAST Freshman of the Year was a unanimous Preseason All-BIG EAST selection
- Jade Dudley-Epps ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in blocks per set (1.13) and owns the league's all-time single-match hitting percentage record (.895 vs. Western Michigan, Sept. 12)
- As a team, DePaul ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.245) and service aces per set (1.55) and fifth in kills per set (12.95)
"Providence brings one of the more unique offensive schemes in our league, they serve really well, and our defense will need to find balance and counter-attacking opportunities," said Zidek. "UConn has replaced its 7 graduates from last year with fresh and eager players, so both will be really good tests for us. We have prepared through this preseason crucible, and now it's time to find a way when match time comes, no matter what it takes. Margins are thin in-league this year, and you couldn't script these next challenges for our group any better. We are ready to be stretched and to gear up."
Milestone Watch
- Amanda Saeger needs one assist to reach 1,700 for her career (1,699)
- Abby Cahill is four digs from 400 (396)
- Leonor Polezzi is 10 assists from 2,300 (2,290) and 40 digs from 700 (660)
- Kendall Timme needs 81 kills for 500 (419)
- Jade Dudley-Epps needs 66 kills for 400 (334)
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
L/DS
/ WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
MB
/ WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
S
/ WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
S
/ WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL
OH
/ WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALLMonday, September 21
Monday, September 21
Saturday, September 19
Saturday, September 12