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The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

DePaul volleyball is taking the Big East by storm

In a game where players can neither catch nor hold the ball, DePaul’s volleyball team knows how to keep their grip on momentum. With last year’s record of just 10 wins and 18 losses, these 13 players are have obliterated the previous season with a stunning 12-0 start in 2013.

Coached by former Penn State All- American and national champion Nadia Edwards, the team has new players, tools and strategies to dominate the Big East Conference.

“We’re the type of team that’s blue collar,” Edwards said. “We believe in working hard every single day. This year, we have focused on our offensive numbers. In the past, this has been a defensive team.”

An increase in scoring has been a top component in this season’s success.

“Volleyball is all about the rallies. If you’re not scoring two points, you’re not winning the game,” Edwards added.

To the Blue Demons, winning is not just about numbers-it is also about team chemistry. “People say that you don’t have to be friends off the court, but we are,” senior outside hitter Vesela Zapryanova said. “I want to play for these girls, and I know they want to play for me. Last year, we were individuals, but this year we’re a team.”

Zapryanova has been instrumental in the Blue Demons’ torrid start to the season. At the Drake Invitational Sept. 6-7, she became the first student-athlete to win Big East Player of the Week since DePaul joined the conference in 2005.

“I’ve been here a little over a month, and it already feels like family,” sophomore setter Colleen Smith said. Smith was diagnosed with Wegner’s granulomatosis in her freshman year of college. It is a rare disorder in which blood vessels become inflamed, making it hard for blood to flow. She was told that she would never play again. “These people never gave up on me,” she said.

From the beginning of the July pre-season to every regular practice, these women have had great expectations to achieve. “Summer practice is optional. There were only four girls last season, but this year, everyone was here,” Zapryanova said. “We can’t do it without the other girls. You never want to not win. You never want to not be prepared for an opponent.”

The Blue Demons train between two and three hours per day, five days a week, and create new traditions like watching inspirational videos and movies together.

“Yesterday, we watched The Karate Kid,” Smith said. The team will even go so far as to rally against the men’s team for more practice. “It’s much nicer playing with someone much taller, much stronger. It gets you prepared. It’s a little annoying at times because they’re jumping over you, and you’re just like, ‘Come on!'” Zapryanova joked.

Coach Edwards believes in her “feisty players.” “Everything I have asked of them they have done, and it shows in terms of reflection in our record.” The team begins each game with one saying: “Give it all to win it all.”

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