DePaul women’s volleyball was out on a mission Tuesday, Sept. 12 as they faced their cross-town rival Loyola, cruising by for an easy victory.
Taking three sets to none (25-8, 25-16, 25-19), DePaul swept Loyola on their home court, earning their third win of the season. The win over Loyola improved the team’s away record to 2-1, and their overall record to 3-6.
From the first serve, DePaul was on fire, holding Loyola to only eight points in the first set. Haley Bueser helped lead the charge for DePaul, helping the team maintain the 18-7 lead they possessed and allowing the Blue Demons to score eight points.
“Haley helped our team to gain momentum right away from the service line and was able to help set the tone early in the match. She also had a phenomenal night defensively,” head coach Nadia Edwards said in an interview with DePaul Athletics.
Leading the Blue Demons in productive offensive play was right side hitter Brittany Maxwell. Maxwell lead the team with 12 kills and with 15 ½ points. Caitlyn Coffey followed close behind with six kills and 10 ½ points.
“I think if we can put ourselves in positions to have a couple of people shine through and have double digit kills or close to that, that means our setters are spreading the offense well,” head coach Nadia Edwards said.
Going into the game, according to Edwards, it was important for the Blue Demons to slow down Loyola’s right side hitter, Elle Van Grinsven, knowing that she would be their biggest challenge if they wanted to pull out a win. They were able to do just that. Van Grinsven was held to six kills and 6 ½ points in three sets.
DePaul needed a big win heading into the weekend and their upcoming conference that begins next Wednesday.
“We start conference next Wednesday, so every single match in front of us is important for us to develop our chemistry and having focused energy on the court going into conference,” Edwards said.
DePaul’s chemistry seemed to be pretty strong out on the court against Loyola Tuesday night. They were able to hold Loyola to less than 20 points per set and no more than eight kills. DePaul hit a percentage of 300 which was the goal Edwards had set for her girls going into the game.
DePaul then traveled to St. Louis for the weekend to finish its non-conference schedule in the Saint Louis Billiken Invitational.
“Our goal for this weekend is to end preseason on a strong note and feel prepared going into conference next week,” Edwards told DePaul Athletics after the game. “For the weekend, we will continue to challenge our group with process-based goals to help us focus on the level of play on our side and be consistent with our performance from start to finish.”
DePaul took home the gold in the three match tournament, defeating St. Louis, Louisiana Tech and finishing the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Little Rock.
Claire Anderson was named the tournament MVP, setting career bests with 24 kills and 19 digs in the championship. Kelsey Horvath and Haley Bueser were named to the All-Tournament Team. Now 6-6 on the season thanks to a four-game win streak, the Demons will begin conference play at Xavier on Tuesday, Sept. 19.