DePaul University

CHICAGO –  The DePaul volleyball team host St. John's and Connecticut at McGrath Arena this weekend.  The Blue Demons play the Red Storm on Friday at 7 p.m. before hosting the Huskies at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

The Blue Demons are playing just their third and fourth home matches of the season and have traveled over 7,600 to play opponents from 11 different state. Offensively, the Blue Demons are led by senior outside hitter Morgan Ingersoll, who averages a team best and ranks fifth in the BIG EAST averaging 4.09 kills per game.  The senior has terminated the ball effectively in conference matches and ranks sixth, averaging 4.29 kills per game.  In a four-game match against Syracuse (10/7), Ingersoll finished with a career-high 27 kills which ties for the second most kills by any BIG EAST player in a conference match this season.  Marquette's Kimberly Todd holds the league record with 28 kills against Cincinnati (five games). 

DePaul faces the daunting challenge of taking on the leagues top team St. John's (21-1, 6-0 ) on Friday.  The Red Storm have won their last 11 matches, including seven matches with a 3-0 score.   Conversely, the Huskies (13-8, 2-4) have dropped their last two matches including a 3-0 loss to St. John's last week.

DePaul fell on the road last season to both the Red Storm and Huskies, 3-0.  Sophomores Maureen Zigulich and Caitlin Callaghan led DePaul in both contests.  Zigulich tallied 10 digs against both teams while Callaghan paced the offense in both matches.  Callaghan recorded eight kills and 12 digs at St. John's and registered seven kills and 10 digs against UConn.

St. John's (21-1, 6-0 BIG EAST)

Friday, October 20, 7:00 p.m. (CST)

Head Coach:  Joanne Persico-Smith (13th season)

Series:  St. John's leads the series 2-0

Last Meeting: 10/9/06, St. John's won, 3-0 (30-21, 30-23, 30-25)

The Red Storms (21-1) is one of seven teams in country to have one or fewer losses this season. Although just shy of making the AVCA/CSTV Top 25 National poll last week, St. John's boasts one of the nations best offense's; averaging 17.36 kills and 16.11 assists per game.  Both the Red Storms' kills and assists numbers are the best in the conference while they are ranked second in the country in assists and third in kills. Hui Ping Huang, the reigning BIG EAST player of the week, leads St. John's with a .365 attack percentage and averages 3.97 kills per game.  Against the Blue Demons in 2005, Hui Ping led players with 15 kills and a .375 attack percentage. She also tallied three of the Red Storms 10 total blocks.  

Connecticut (13-8, 2-4 BIG EAST)

Sunday, October 22, 2:00 p.m. (CST)

Head Coach:  Holly Strauss (2nd season)

Series: UConn leads 2-0

Last Meeting: 10/8/05, Connecticut won 3-0 (30-28, 3-17, 30-22)

Connecticut serves up a conference best and ranks 18th in the country with 2.27 aces per game.  Bridget Denson-Dorman leads the squad with 32 aces while Gina Heiderman averages a team best 0.50 per game.  The Huskies are 1-1 in their last two conference competitions, defeating Seton Hall 3-0 before falling to St. John's 3-0. Against the Blue Demons in 2005, UConn registered seven service aces and hit .221 for the match. 

Looking at 1,000

Senior Morgan Ingersoll recorded her 1,000 career point against Notre Dame, October 13, 2006.  The senior netted 10.5 points against the Irish to push her past the 1,000 mark. In her 300 career games, Ingersoll averages 3.06 kills per game and 3.35 points per game.  Ingersoll holds the DePaul record for points, registering 28.0 points against Central Arkansas (9/15/06) and Syracuse (10/7/06).

Hayes Hangs on 1,300 digs

Senior Ellen Hayes is known for her aggressive defensive play, leading the Blue Demons with 294 (3.87 DPG) digs this season.  During Hayes’ career, she averages 3.66 digs per game and enters the weekend with 1,337 career digs.  Hayes also holds the McGrath Arena record for digs in a match, registering 34 digs against Tulane on 10/18/03.

Sidelined

The Blue Demons have three players, freshman setter Emily McGinnis, freshman middle blocker Ashley Graham, and sophomore outside hitter Caitlin Callaghan sitting out indefinitely with injuries. McGinnis, the Blue Demons No.1 setter and averages 10.45 assists per game suffered a concussion against Syracuse (10/7).  Graham, who appeared in four matches, dislocated her shoulder in practice a September 11.  Callaghan, who started 16 matches and is fifth on the team with 81 kills injured her right ankle October 7, against Syracuse.

Road Warriors

The Blue Demons spent the first seven weeks of the season on the road and have just six home in 2006. After traveling to South Bend last week the Blue Demons will have traveled over 7,600 (7,602.34) miles in their first eight weeks of competition.  DePaul has just six home matches with its first home series October 7-8 when they hosted Syracuse and Marquette. 

Out of State

The Blue Demon have two players that do not call the state of Illinois “home.” Senior middle blocker Deane Gibson is from Wabash, Indiana (Southwood). Gibson leads the Blue Demons with a .202 attack percentage and is second on the team with 47 blocks. Sophomore outside hitter, Cristina Correa calls Houston, Texas (Lamar) home.

Morgan Mentioned

Senior Morgan Ingersoll was named to the BIG EAST weekly honor roll for the week of September 18.  The senior led the Blue Demons offensively during the Memphis Tournament, tallying 59 kills and a .226 attack percentage during DePaul’s four matches.  Against  Central Arkansas, Ingersoll tallied a career-high 27 kills.

All-Tournament Nodes

Senior Morgan Ingersoll and Caitlin Callaghan took home All-Tournament team accolades for the Blue Demons this season.  Callaghan was named to the Western Illinois all-tournament team while, Ingersoll was named to the Memphis and Rice all-tournament squads.

Preseason Pick

Notre Dame was selected by the league’s head coaches to win the 2006 BIG EAST Conference volleyball regular season crown. The Irish return three starters from last year’s BIG EAST Championship squad that posted a record of 30-4.

BIG EAST Championship

The University of Cincinnati will play host to the 2006 BIG EAST Championship at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. The top eight teams, according to league records, will participate in a single-elimination tournament to be held November 17-19.