DePaul Gets Back on Track Against Xavier

After dropping their first 2 conference matches of the season, there was a bit of frustration and anger on the side of the Blue Demons.

They took out that anger against Xavier last night.

DePaul (12-3, 1-2 BIG EAST) welcome the Xavier Musketeers (7-7, 3-1 BIG EAST) to the McGrath Phillips Arena last night.

Blue Demons head coach Nadia Edwards told her team before the match to play "hungry, frustrated, and motivated."

Coach Edwards, after the 3 set loss to Marquette last Saturday, decided to switch up her lineups a bit to see what kind of boost she could get from some of her players who might not have had much playing time as some others so far during the 2015 season.

One inparticular: Jasmine King.

King got the start last night for the Blue Demons and throughout the night had a fantastic match for herself. She led the Blue Demons with 10 kills in the match. While it might not the the biggest eye popping stat, if you were able to tune in to last night's broadcast or were at the match last night, her net front presence set the tone for the Blue Demons all night long.

For Xavier however, kill machine Abby Bessler was at it once again.

After coming off a career high and new school record 33 kills vs St. Johns, Bessler continued her hot run last night as well, totaling a match high 28 kills for the Musketeers. She gave the Blue Demons a really tough time last night through the first 3 sets.

Last night for DePaul, they won the first 2 sets 25-23, 25-23. Good start to the match right? Well, if you recall last week vs Butler, DePaul won the first 2 sets in that match as well, only to lose the next 3 to the Bulldogs and the match. Xavier took set 3, 25-20, and for a little while in the 4th set, it almost felt like Deja Vu for the Blue Demons. Momentum was on the side of the Musketeers.

Only this time... the Blue Demons sealed the deal.

After a late rally from Xavier, DePaul was able to close the match out in 4 sets, winning the 4th set 25-23 (same scores as sets 1 and 2). There were a total of 29 tie scores throughout the match, with only 9 total lead changes.

For DePaul, Colleen Smith tallied 35 assists and 17 digs, Saige Gallop with 9 kills and 4 digs, libero Tyler Graham contributed with 14 digs as well.

The complete box score can be found here: DePaul vs Xavier.

Up next for the Blue Demons, they hit the road for the next 4 matches, as they will travel to Seton Hall, Villanova, Creighton, and Georgetown in that order.


FYI: Our next broadcast of DePaul Blue Demons Women's Volleyball will be on October 16th when the Blue Demons host St. Johns. Make sure to catch the action on chicagolandsportsradio.com!

Butler Ends Blue Demons Hot Streak

Going into Wednesday night, DePaul was riding on an 11 match winning streak, with the overall record of 11-1.

Butler was 3-9, and had something to prove against the streaky Blue Demons.

Wednesday night's match between DePaul and Butler kicked off the 2015 Big East conference schedule. This is where the so called "grind of it all" begins for teams during their respective 2015 seasons.

The First 2 sets looked like DePaul was in a zone that we have been accustomed to seeing from them so far this season. Blue Demons took the first 2 sets 25-23, and 25-19.

However, once set 3 got underway, momentum began to swing in favor of the Bulldogs.

Lead by Makayla Furgerson, who had a team high 46 assists in the match, and Mary Striedl, who lead all players with 27 kills, became a thorn in the side of the Blue Demons for the remainder of the match.

Butler outscored DePaul in sets 3 through 5, 65-47.

With this loss, the Blue Demons move to 11-2, 0-1 Big East Conference. Butler improves to 4-9, 1-0 Big East Conference.

For the Blue Demons, 4 players registered double digit kills in the match: Callie Huebener (11), Brittany Maxwell (15), Colleen Smith (10), and Saige Gallop (14).

Colleen Smith also now as over 2,400 assists in her career and inches closer to becoming 5th all time in assists.

Here is the final box score from the match: Butler vs DePaul 

UP NEXT: DePaul will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin this Saturday at 6PM to square off against Marquette (8-5, 0-1 Big East)


Our next broadcast of DePaul Blue Demons women's volleyball will be next Wednesday, September 30th at 7PM when the Blue Demons welcome Xavier to town. You can catch the action on chicagolandsportsradio.com/watch

Blue Demons Win 2015 DePaul Invitational

There was a certain smell inside the McGrath-Phillips Arena this past weekend for DePaul.

What was that smell you might ask? Simple: The smell of winning.

Coming off of the Western Illinois Invitational last weekend, the Blue Demons were riding a 2 match winning streak, and coming home overall 2-1 to begin the DePaul Invitational last Friday night.

Their first challenge ahead of them were the Toledo Rockets, a team that only finished 1-28 back in the 2014 season. With strong net front presence from freshman Brittany Maxwell, her team high 11 kills help the Blue Demons conquer the 1st of 3 matches in the tournament beating the Rockets in 3 straight sets. Sophomore Caitlyn Coffey also contributed with double digit kills as well, with 10 in the match. Here's the stat sheet from this match: DePaul vs Toledo.

So match 1 is in the books. Two more loom the following day, and speaking of Caitlyn Coffey...

Saturday was the 1st of 2 matches the Blue Demons took on. In the afternoon portion of the day, they battled with the Evansville Purple Aces. For Blue Demons sophomore Caitlyn Coffey, it was a match she surely will not forget anytime soon. Coffey had everything working for her all match long, totaling a team high and new career best 21 kills in the match. Evansville was not able to stop her wherever she was on the court. Senior Libero Tyler Graham had a team high 17 digs in the match, along with 53 assists from Colleen Smith. After going through a tough 3rd set, which the Blue Demons won 33-31, their foot was on the gas pedal taking total control of set 4 and winning that set 25-12, winning the match in 4 total sets. Here is the complete stats sheet for the match: DePaul vs Evansville 

After that win, DePaul goes 2-0 in the Invitational with a chance to clinch the DePaul Invitational. Only thing standing in their way were the Panthers from Eastern Illinois, who also was 2-0 entering the final match of Saturday evening.

With more stellar performances from Smith, Coffey, Graham, and Saige Gallop, who posted a team high 18 kills, DePaul was able to hold off a tough and stingy EIU Panthers team, specifically Marah Bradbury with an overall 8 kills, 41 assists, and 8 digs.After DePaul took set 1, 25-21, sets 2,3, AND 4 needed extra points to be played. Set 2 taken by EIU 26-24, then sets 3 and 4 finished with the same score, but with a different team on the other side of the outcomes. DePaul took those final 2 sets, winning the match in 4, and taking home the 2015 DePaul Invitational. Here's the box score on this match: DePaul vs Eastern Illinois.

When speaking with Blue Demons head coach Nadia Edwards after the match versus Eastern Illinois, she had high praises for everyone on the team and is happy to let her team keep on rolling and not trying to change much. Not sure if you can blame her on that. DePaul now stands at 5-1 on the 2015 season, as next weekend they head out for another tournament, this time down at Georgia State University. DePaul has won their last 5 matches.

Some other notes from this weekend:

-DePaul Invitational MVP: Caitlyn Coffey, DePaul

- DePaul Invitational All-Tournament Team: Colleen Smith (DePaul), Saige Gallop (DePaul), Allie Hueston (Eastern Illinois), Genesis Miranda (Evansville), and Rachel Vidourek (Toledo).

FINAL STANDINGS:
Champion: DePaul 3-0
Runner-Up: Eastern Illinois 2-1
3rd Place: Toledo 1-2
4th Place: Evansville 0-3

In case you missed any games that you would like to hear the radio broadcast from, go HERE.

FYI: Make sure to catch all the HOME broadcasts of DePaul Women's Volleyball on chicagolandsportsradio.com/watch. You can also go to livestream.com/chicagolandsports as well. The next home broadcast will be Wednesday, September 23rd at 7PM CT when they host their first Big East conference game of the season as they will welcome to town the Butler Bulldogs.

Blue Demons fall to Villanova, Georgetown next up.

It's not always how you start, but how you finish.

Saturday evening's conference match-up (which was the Dig Pink match in honor of breast cancer awareness month) between the DePaul Blue Demons (3-18, 1-8 BIG EAST) and Villanova Wildcats (11-13, 4-5 BIG EAST) followed said quote stated above.

DePaul took the first set 25-22, with a strong outing from freshman Catilyn Coffey who had a career night in her young collegiate career, notching a career high 14 kills in the match, along with 4 block assists and 2 solo blocks.

But it was the trio attack from the Wildcats that helped them take the next 3 sets and the match victory. Colleen Hickey (15), Cara Cunningham (14), and Lauren Carpenter (12) hit double figures in the kills category in Saturday's win. Villanova setter Allie DiBernardo had a double double in Saturday night's contest contributing with 36 assists and 10 digs.

Also for the Blue Demons, setter Colleen Smith contributed with a nice all-around outing with 40 assists, 8 digs, 5 kills, 6 assisted rejections. 

For more information on Saturday's match, go HERE.

DePaul will be searching for it's 2nd conference win this season when they go on the road for their next match against Georgetown on Friday. The Blue Demons also have another match on the road against Creighton on Sunday to complete the upcoming 2 game road trip.


NOTE: The next chicagolandsportsradio.com broadcast for DePaul Blue Demons volleyball will be on Friday October 31st (yes, Halloween... BOO!) at McGrath-Phillips Arena when they host Xavier at 7:00 PM CT, then the next day November 1st vs Butler at 7:00 PM CT.

DePaul gets swept by Marquette

The Lady Blue Demons wrap up Super Saturday at DePaul, with an underwhelming performance against The Golden Eagles. This rivalry game was not much of a contest, as Marquette went 3 – 0 (25-15, 25-19, 25-16) in quick fashion and was never in distress. DePaul has now lost 11 of its last 12 matches; this loss puts them at 3-15 overall and 1-5 in the Big East. The Golden Eagles are trending in the other direction, as they improve to 14-4 overall and 5-1 in the Big East.

One of the bright spots for DePaul was junior Callie Huebener, who led the Demons’ offense with 10 kills and was the only player in double digits. She was able to contribute on the defensive side of the net with two digs and a block.

Two other juniors that made some plays were Saige Gallop and Colleen Smith. Gallop had 8 kills, 4

digs and 2 blocks. Vying for her 6^th double-double of the season, Smith led the Blue Demons with 27 assist and 9 digs.

The Golden Eagles dominated the net, as they out blocked DePaul 11-7 and also converted more kills, 41-30.

The player of the night was Autumn Bailey of The Golden Eagles, who made it look easy and justified her preseason Big East Player of the Year honor. Bailey tallied 16 kills in the three game match while adding 7 service aces and 4 blocks. 

Even with the Marquette Golden Eagles sweep of the Blue Demons, the Demons still lead the series 28 – 25. The Blue Demons have been swept 3 matches in arrow and 6 times this year, but look to right the ship in Ohio, as the visit Xavier University on October 14^th.

-Wes Evans 

Freshmen impress, Blue Demons However Fall to 2-4 on the Season.

Coming off a loss to Syracuse in day 1 of the Windy City invitational, the Blue Demons came into Saturday looking for a much better result.

They got off to a better start as the first match of the day was against the host of the Windy City Invite, the Chicago State Cougars. DePaul won this match in 3 straight sets (25-17, 25-15, 25-22). 5th year head coach Nadia Edwards applauded the team's effort with "coming out with the energy early... along with setting the tone." Freshman Jameson MacPhie had the best outing of her young collegiate career, having 7 kills, 3 digs, and recording a .417 attack percentage. Meanwhile, another freshman had a nice outing in the match as well. Myah Reed led the team with the match with 10 kills. 

DePaul is now 16-0 all time against the Chicago State Cougars. This is their first sweep of any opponent since their match against Georgetown back on October 5th, 2013. 

For more on this match, go HERE.

DePaul vs CSU Box Score: HERE.

Then the final match arrived, as the Blue Demons had a date with the UIC Flames. 

While Saige Gallop finished this match with 20 kills, it wasn't enough for the Blue Demons to overcome, as the Flames, which was led by Stephaniee Yancy who had 27 kills in the match, took a 4 set victory (25-13, 25-23, 25-27, 25-20). In the 2nd set, which was only won by the minimum 2 points you must win by in volleyball, showed 13 ties, along with 5 lead changes. The Flames were also led by Nicole Johnson, who totaled a tourney high 60 assists in this match. Junior Colleen Smith for DePaul posted the 2nd double-double of the young season, having 32 assists and 19 digs. Smith and Gallop represented DePaul as they were named to the All-Tournament team. 

For more on this match, click HERE.

DePaul vs UIC Box Score: HERE.

DePaul is now 2-4 on the season, and will travel to Evansville, Indiana this weekend for another 3 game, 2 day tournament. They will play IUPUI Friday, then face Evansville and Central Michigan this Saturday.

-Ryan Fahey

An Orange Crush to Start Windy City Invite for DePaul

While the Blue Demons are looking to bounce off their 1-2 start from the season from hosting the DePaul invitational, they were looking to get on a hot streak beginning at the Windy City invitational, hosted at Chicago State University.

Well... it was a hot streak alright for starters. No air conditioning available in the building and the only ventilation came from industrial fans, made the pre-game sweat almost like in game sweat. Even us broadcasters were warm too.(But you don't care about me, yada yada yada.) So back to the team...

DePaul got things started off in the Windy City Invitational by facing old Big East rival, the Syracuse Orange. The Orange came into the match with a record of 2-1. DePaul Head Coach Nadia Edwards knew a tall task was ahead of her.

Syracuse got off to a 2 set victory over DePaul 25-23, 25-19. For the Blue Demons however, it was junior Saige Gallop leading DePaul and all players with 16 kills through those 2 sets.  Junior Colleen Smith had 22 assists through those 2 sets, leading all players as well for that category.

Set 3 became a whole other ball game at that point. The Blue Demons at one point in the match had a lead as much as 8. The Orange offense, led by Silvi Uatarra and Monika Salkute, where nowhere to be found in the 3rd set, as DePaul cruised in that one, 25-15.

The 4th set came with the Syracuse Orange wanting to close things out in a hurry. Towards the end of the 4th set, DePaul faced a 24-17 deficit. While DePaul will always give it's 100% in every match, the Orange were too much to handle as they took the 4th set 25-18, and the match.

For more on the match and a complete box score, check this LINK.


-DePaul has 2 more matches tomorrow. They will face Chicago State at 12PM, then finish off the invite against UIC at 5PM. These matches can be streamed on chicagolandsportsradio.com.




-Ryan Fahey