CHICAGO – DePaul volleyball (21-13, 10-8 BIG EAST) is set to face Bowling Green (23-9, 16-2 Mid-American) on Monday, December 9 at McGrath-Phillips Arena, as the Blue Demons host the Great 8 of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC). The match will commence at 7 p.m. CT, with streaming on the DePaul Athletics YouTube here.

"This match has everything we want in a team we have experience with and want to play tough," said head coach Marie Zidek. 

"We are playing at a high level right now, and our players are still adding to their game. Now, we have a chance to go for it with everything on the line, and a chance to advance. What this tournament is allowing our players and program to do is incredible, and we are salivating at the chance to keep it going."

BLUE DEMON BITS

• Against Omaha, libero Rachel Krasowski surpassed her own single-season digs record of 582, which she set in 2022, currently sitting at 601 digs and counting
• Outside hitter Jill Pressly is just 16 kills away from passing Stephanie Bishop for second on the DePaul all-time kills list, with Bishop earning 2,052 kills from 1998 to 2001
• Two postseason victories after the conference tournament marks the most for any DePaul volleyball squad, and just the second and third matches the program has ever played in December
• Against Toledo, DePaul achieved 20 wins in a season for the first time since 2001, also the last NCAA tournament berth for the Blue Demons
• Freshman Amanda Saeger tallied a career-high 54 assists against Omaha, also a season-high for any one Blue Demon, and a career-high four kills against Toledo
• DePaul earned their way into the Great 8 after a five-set thriller against Omaha, their fifth win in five sets on the year, and third match with 70 or more kills as a team
• A win against the Falcons would mark the fourth time this season DePaul has won three consecutive matches, and just the second time winning three in a row at home

SCOUTING THE FALCONS

• The Falcons battled their way into the Great 8 with victories against Binghamton and Wright State, both coming at their home court in four sets
• Middle blocker Alexis Mettille ranks seventh across all Division I players in hitting percentage, averaging a .437 clip on the year
• Junior Lauryn Hovey was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, after leading the team in kills, aces, and points, and guiding her squad to the regular-season league title with a 16-2 record against conference opponents
• Head Coach Danijela Tomic earned Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year recognition for the third time in her tenure, notching her seventh season with 20 or more wins, and best overall record in her thirteen years at the helm

SERIES STUFF

• DePaul and Bowling Green have met six times in program history, with the all-time series knotted at three matches apiece
• The Falcons won the sixth all-time match in four sets on September 14 in Lincoln Park

UP NEXT
With a DePaul win, they would advance to the NIVC Fab Four, facing Connecticut, St. John's or Virginia.