DePaul volleyball is heading into conference play with momentum and high stakes, opening its BIG EAST schedule with a pair of road matches on ESPN+ this weekend. The Blue Demons, sitting at an 8-3 record, will visit Providence (8-3) on Friday, Sept. 25, followed by a matchup against UConn (7-6) on Saturday, Sept. 26. This two-game road swing officially puts an end to an intense eight-match homestand that featured a state-of-Illinois indoor collegiate single-match attendance record against top-ranked Nebraska, a fierce battle against then-No. 12 Penn State, a Chicago Cup tournament title, and a program-record hitting performance from Jade Dudley-Epps.
“Not to be overly dramatic, but everything we’ve done for and around the program from January until now has been 100% focused on optimizing for these eight weeks of BIG EAST league play,” said head coach Marie Zidek. “The team knows and understands this. Only 4 teams qualify for the BIG EAST Tournament, and we cannot win a league championship if we are not in that grouping. Our league schedule is also unbalanced, which makes the 4 tiebreak matches especially important. We want to win those in case a head-to-head decision is needed for qualification at the end of the season. Two of them start this weekend.”
DePaul Volleyball Prepares for Conference Opener After Busy Homestand
The Blue Demons wrapped up their home slate by claiming the Chicago Cup title with a 2-0 record. DePaul opened the tournament with a hard-fought five-set victory over crosstown rival Loyola Chicago, winning by set scores of 25-23, 20-25, 19-25, 25-19, and 15-13. They followed that up with a straight-set sweep of UIC, taking the frames 25-19, 25-23, and 28-26 to secure the trophy.
Senior Leonor Polezzi orchestrated the offense through the tournament with a combined 59 assists, eight service aces, and 20 digs while hitting a flawless 1.000 with six kills on six attempts. Her performance earned her a third BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll nod of the season, adding to previous recognitions on August 31, September 14, and September 21. Kendall Timme added consistency by reaching double-figure kills in both matches, while Jade Dudley-Epps capped the tournament by hitting .556 against UIC.
“The BIG EAST played the toughest non-conference schedule of any of the 31 leagues in the country, and we certainly followed suit,” Zidek noted. “The league finished with a 62% win percentage against the strongest non-conference scheduling models across those 31 leagues. Everyone is prepared to battle, and there’s no doubt teams will look to start strong right out of the gate.”
Scouting the Opposition: Providence and UConn
Providence enters the weekend with an 8-3 record following a tough two-loss weekend at the Harvard Invitational, where the Friars fell to Harvard in three sets and dropped a five-set battle to Sacred Heart. Junior Sophia Adkins paces the Friars with 108 kills and earned a spot on the Harvard Invitational All-Tournament Team. Meanwhile, freshman Aubrey Easterwood leads the BIG EAST in block assists with 56 and blocks per set at 1.51, totaling 59.0 blocks on the season. Senior Miller McDonald leads Providence with 201 assists and 20 service aces, having recently surpassed 2,000 career assists. Historically, DePaul holds a 16-7 advantage in the all-time series against the Friars, winning four of their last five meetings.
UConn checks in at 7-6 after going 2-1 at the “For the White & Blue” Tournament. Helena Einarsdottir and Sydney Borowy both earned All-Tournament Team honors for the Huskies, with Einarsdottir also capturing a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll selection under eighth-year head coach Ellen Herman-Kimball. While DePaul trails 6-14 in the all-time series against UConn, the Blue Demons have won five straight and six of the last seven meetings, including a sweep last season.
As a team, DePaul ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage at .245 and service aces per set at 1.55, while standing fifth in kills per set at 12.95. Individually, Kendall Timme leads DePaul with 143 kills, ranking third in the conference in kills per set at 3.76 and points per set at 4.28. Polezzi ranks second in the league in assists per set at 8.71 and service aces per set at 0.53. Dudley-Epps ranks ninth in blocks per set at 1.13 and holds the conference’s all-time single-match hitting percentage record at .895, set against Western Michigan on September 12.
Looking Ahead to the Weekend Battles
“Providence brings one of the more unique offensive schemes in our league, they serve really well, and our defense will need to find balance and counter-attacking opportunities,” Zidek said. “UConn has replaced its 7 graduates from last year with fresh and eager players, so both will be really good tests for us. We have prepared through this preseason crucible, and now it’s time to find a way when match time comes, no matter what it takes. Margins are thin in-league this year, and you couldn’t script these next challenges for our group any better. We are ready to be stretched and to gear up.”
Both matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with live stats available for fans tracking the opening weekend of conference action. Stay tuned for further coverage as DePaul fights to establish an early foothold in the BIG EAST standings. Feel free to leave a comment below or share this report to join the discussion.
