First Impressions

Well my first weekend with the DePaul team was a good one. They opened Big East play at 1-1 overall and won 5 of their 10 sets for the weekend. They easily could have gone 2-0 and showed signs of being a great team.

Katie Gamsky is the facilitator of the offense as the team's setter. She did a great job of getting the ball where it needed to be both days.

A great set first requires a good first pass. Junior Libero Kelsey Bowler did plenty of that in the match against Georgetown. As a whole the team passed well over the weekend, only for brief stretches against Villanova did the team struggle on the serve receive and with their passes. It wasn't anything major, but it was enough to keep them from going 2-0 over the weekend.

The blocks were also a big factor for the Blue Demons. Shutava, Rizzo, and Blasi were great on the block and a caused many problems for the Hoyas on Sunday.

Perhaps the biggest thing to take away from the first weekend of Big East play was that DePaul has a superstar in the making in freshman Amy Lanski. She has 33 kills in the two matches combined and was a consistent force for the team. Her approach and hit is fundamental and very hard to stop. Just ask the Nova team that gave up 22 kills to her.

All in all there was a lot to like about the Blue Demon's opening weekend of conference play. The team improved from Saturday to Sunday and pulled out their first conference victory. If the team can continue to improve and make adjustments as the season progresses, they'll be a dangerous team moving forward.

I'm excited to see how this weekends performance builds towards another two home matches this coming weekend.

Go Blue Demons!

-Alex

So close....

yet so far.

Closing the blocks, and closing out sets are what hurt the Blue Demons in the matchup here today vs. Nova. Let it be noted however that there were MANY improvements for the team from their last weekend DePaul invitational.

The libero play by Bowler was outstanding and truly kept the team in the thick of it through 5.

Rizzo is a demon (yes pun intended) in the rotation with the one kill.

Shutava was a great fill in for the injured Spruill however the rotation was tested today and couldn't withstand the late rotation by the Wildcats which ran away with the 4th and 5th sets.

Best thing to take away from today is DePaul seems re-energized after last weekend and has a great matchup tomorrow vs. the Hoyas.

FIND IT HERE.... ChicagolandSportsRadio.com.

Back on Track...

Can the DePaul Blue Demon Women's Volleyball Team get back on track after the invitational last weekend?

One thing that Kyle and I truly noticed is how the team either starts strong and finishes poorly or has a big push in the third set but little too late.

Coach Edwards has changed the lineup a bit from here to there but the defensive specialists are showing some inconsistencies thus far, but when they are able to communicate, are able to truly shine and set up the Belarus BOMBER or the California KILLER.

Stay tuned for a great weekend of volleyball on ChicagolandSportsRadio.com!