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Volleyball Announces 2010 Slate
July 9, 2010
CHICAGO - First year DePaul volleyball coach Nadia Edwards has put together a challenging and rigorous slate for her 2010 team. The Blue Demons hosts a pair of early season tournaments before welcoming six BIG EAST Conference opponents to McGrath Arena.
Fans have a chance to cheer on the Blue Demons at 12 home matches with their first opportunity coming Aug. 27-28 when DePaul hosts the annual Chicagoland Classic. "First and foremost, we are excited to host the Chicagoland Classic which brings UIC, Northwestern and Loyola-Chicago to McGrath Arena," Edwards said of her first tournament. The season's inaugural tournament highlights three of Chicago's best volleyball programs in the battle for city bragging rights. DePaul opens the Classic against UIC on the 27th while the consolation and championship matches take place on Saturday at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively. "Looking further into our home schedule, the DePaul Invitational and our BIG EAST slate, there are a lot of high-caliber teams and we are looking forward to an elevated level of competition," Edwards added. With the first tournament in the books, the Blue Demons make the short drive to Indianapolis for the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational, Sept 4-5 before hosting their second tournament - the DePaul Invitational, Sept. 10-11. DePaul breaks from tournament action to host Santa Clara on Sept. 15 before hitting the road for the Miami Best Western Invitational. The Blue Demons are slated to face tough regional opponents in Miami, Indiana and Illinois State during the two-day extravaganza Sept. 17-18. DePaul tunes up for BIG EAST action with a nonconference tilt at Northern Illinois on Sept. 21, before welcoming league foes Pittsburgh and West Virginia on Sept. 25 and 26. The Blue Demons hit the road the first 15 days of October, traveling to Georgetown, USF, Cincinnati and Louisville before heading to South Bend for a showdown with Notre Dame on Oct. 15. DePaul returns to Chicago for a pair of nonconference matches with SIU-Edwardsville on Oct. 17 and travel the short distance to Chicago State on Oct. 19. The Blue Demons close out October by hosting four conference matches with Marquette (Oct. 23), Syracuse (Oct. 24), Connecticut (Oct. 30) and will celebrate Senior Day on Oct. 31 when St. John's visits Lincoln Park. DePaul slips in one short road trip and takes on UW-Milwaukee on Oct. 26. DePaul's final three matches of the regular season are on the rood. The Blue Demons head to Villanova (Nov. 7), Seton Hall (Nov. 13) and close out the season at Rutgers on Nov. 14. The BIG EAST Championship will be hosted by Pittsburgh Nov. 19-21 at the Fitzgerald Fieldhouse. Edwards will look to her seniors - Kate Letcher, Christy Landschoot, Kyndell Highland and Katherine Knutson for leadership on the court. Letcher tallied 45 blocks during her junior season, while sophomore right side Lauren Blasi notched a team-best 48 blocks. Landschoot, who enters her senior season with 2,432 career assists, will look for DePaul's top returning offensive producer in Blasi. The outside hitter collected 204 kills while adding and 75 digs on the defensive end.
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