The DePaul volleyball team finishes the tournament portion of its schedule by traveling to Iowa for the Hawkeye/Holiday Inn Challenge this weekend. The Blue Demons (1-7) square off with Tulsa on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and close out the tournament with m
CHICAGO -- The DePaul volleyball team finishes the tournament portion of its schedule by traveling to Iowa for the Hawkeye/Holiday Inn Challenge this weekend. The Blue Demons (1-7) square off with Tulsa on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and close out the tournament with matches against host Iowa and Portland on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m., respectively.
DePaul is 1-4 all-time against the tournament field. The Blue Demons' only series win came against Portland in 1991. The team has lost the last three meeting with Iowa and are 0-1 against Tulsa.
Blue Demon Hits
Jacie Fiedler has registered double-digit kill totals in all eight Blue Demon matches... Fiedler has finished 23 career matches in double-digit kill totals... Sarah Cullen has six double-doubles (kills-digs) this season... only two players (Kendall Maduzia and Ashley Graham) outside of the starting seven have entered a match off the bench for DePaul... the Blue Demons have dropped their last three matches... although 1-7, the team has only lost one match 3-0, while they have played four, four set and three, five set matches... DePaul lone win is a 3-2 win over James Madison on Sept. 6.
Blowing with the Golden Hurricanes
Tulsa enters the weekend on an eight match winning streak and are 11-1 on the season... Jenifer Eicheler leads Tulsa with 164 kills... Hannah Stout leads the team with a .475 attack percentage, while four Golden Hurricane's are hitting better than .300... won the series' only meeting with DePaul in 2000, a 3-2 victory.
Eyes on the Hawkeyes
Iowa has won three of its last four matches and stand at 5-4... under the direction of first year head coach Sharon Dingman... this weekend's matches are the first home matches for the Hawkeyes this season... Catherine Smale leads Iowa with 112 kills and is fourth on the squad with a .240 attack percentage...both Iowa and DePaul have dropped matches to Denver this season... Iowa lost 3-0, while the Bleu Demons fell 3-1... DePaul and Iowa have met three times, with Iowa winning each match... the last meeting between the two teams was 1998.
Portland Hits
The Pilots have won three of their last six matches and enter the weekend with a 4-8 record... Ashley Grayson and Jennifer Sheedy have both tallied over 100 kills this season... earlier this season Portland defeated BIG EAST opponent USF 3-2... DePaul won the only series meeting with Portland 3-1 in 1991.
DePaul Invitational Review
The Blue Demons stumbled last weekend at the DePaul Invitational, dropping matches to tournament champion UTSA, Ball State and Denver. Junior outside hitter Sarah Cullen was named to the all-tournament team after tallying 54 kills and a pair of double-doubles (kills-digs).
Golden Bear Recap
The Blue Demons grabbed their first win of the season with a 3-2 come from behind victory over James Madison at the Golden Bear Invitational. Jacie Fiedler was named to the all-tournament team after leading the Blue Demons with a .415 attack percentage and 42 kills (3.50 kps) in three matches. Fiedler also led DePaul with five total blocks. DePaul started out the tournament by dropping matches to No. 5 Cal and UC Riverside.
Sensational Sarah
Junior outside hitter Sarah Cullen was named to the DePaul Invitational All-Tournament team after leading the Blue Demons with 54 kills and a pair of double-doubles. Against Ball State, Cullen tallied a career-high 21 kills.
All-Tournament Twice
Jacie Fielder was named to the all-tournament at the Chicagoland Classic and the Golden Bear Invitational. At the Chicagoland, Fiedler tallied 24 kills and team-best .310 attack percentage. Fiedler outdid her opening weekend performance at the Golden Bear Invitational the following weekend. She again led DePaul with a .415 attack percentage and 42 kills. Against No. 5 Cal, Fielder registered a season-high .667 (14-0-21).
BIG EAST Fiedler
Jacie Fiedler was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll after being named to the Golden Bear Invitational all-tournament team. Fiedler led the Blue Demons with a .415 attack percentage and 42 kills (3.50 kps) in three matches at Cal. Fiedler also led DePaul with five total blocks on the week.
2008 BIG EAST Championship
The 2008 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship will be conducted Nov. 21-23 in Pittsburgh, Pa. The single-elimination tournament includes eight of the league’s 15 teams. The top eight teams, based on regular season conference records qualify for the event and are seeded according to their finish in the league standings. The 26th annual championship will be hosted by the University of Pittsburgh at the Fitzgerald Field House. ESPNU will air the championship game live on Nov. 23. The champion receives the league’s automatic bid to the 64-team NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship.
Louisville Favorites
The Louisville Cardinals are the top choice in the 2008 BIG EAST Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Eight of the BIG EAST’s 15 head coaches gave Louisville first-place votes, edging out defending conference champion St. John’s, which had four first-place tallies.
