As DePaul freshman outside hitter Morgan Stewart stepped up to the line at match point, she closed her eyes and took two deep breaths.

A powerful serve and one last attacking attempt from the Loyola Ramblers later, the ball made its way to DePaul senior Amanda Saeger, who then set up Kendall Timme’s 23rd kill of the game.

While initially going down two sets to one, the Blue Demons showed resilience against a strong Loyola side, edging the Ramblers out 3-2 (28-26, 21-25, 23-25, 29-27, 15-11) at Gentile Arena to conclude the Chicago Cup on Sunday, Sept. 21.

DePaul’s head coach Marie Zidek said her team knew they needed to play with an elevated level of command, especially against such difficult opponents.

“They trained with a little bit more tactical intelligence, with a little bit more intent. The team met the moment,” she said.

DePaul managed to win the first set of the match, despite having nine attack errors and struggling to win any points off the block, ultimately only managing to bring the tally up to three.

Using momentum to their advantage they then took an early lead in the second. Eva Hurrle had the court locked down, recording 31 digs overall. Kill shots from Stewart coupled with blocks and aces from Timme, got the team up 13-10. 

Then came the breakdown.

DePaul’s hitting percentage dropped to 0.119 as they struggled to handle serve receive contact. Loyola’s Josie Halblieb set up six kills for middle blocker Ann Marie Remmes, four for outside hitter Kaitlyn Burke in addition to another eight for different players in quick succession. 

Halblieb racked up a season high 57 assists against the Blue Demons on the night.

It wasn’t long before the Ramblers took the second and third sets. But Stewart knew there was no way her team would go down without a fight, especially after the effort they put into learning from their loss last Friday.

The Blue Demons played UIC away and lost 3-1 (17-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-25). They lacked offensive organization and were unable to match the level of consistency the Flames brought to the court.

“We had a learning lesson after our UIC game. … We all understood what we needed to do,” Stewart said. “We all sat down on the bench, especially us that were on court that (third) set, and we just told ourselves that we’re all good, and that we don’t need to freak out.” 

They were in fact, “all good.” The fourth set proved to be the most pivotal: for every kill by Loyola’s Kaitlyn Burk, there was another from DePaul’s Katelynn Oxley, who had a 0.480 hitting percentage at the end of the game.

Oxley attributed some of this success to setters Amanda Saeger and Arden Billingsley. 

“I’ve had a great connection with Amanda and Arden; their sets have been almost perfect … it’s been great,” she said.

Saeger registered 46 assists in total, keeping her side in check offensively.

Dramatically saving four match points in the fourth set, suddenly the Blue Demons found themselves up 5-0 in a tiebreaker, after Stewart came up with clutch serves, allowing her teammates to enhance their statistics.

Eventually, the Ramblers minimized the deficit with well-timed blocks from Halbleib and middle blocker Ella Ramsey, as well as four powerful kills from outside hitter Leina Nguyen. It was too little too late however, and Loyola failed to take away DePaul’s lead.

The victory was a team effort, with substitutions made every set. Zidek acknowledged the important role that they played in a match with so many ebbs and flows. 

“We don’t just, you know, bet on six people to play. We’re trying to build capability and confidence with our entire roster,” Zidek said. 

Reinvigorated with talent, the team is aiming high this season and they all have one goal in mind: winning.

“The biggest thing is that we all believe in each other,” Oxely said. “It only gets harder here on out.”

The Blue Demons will return to McGrath-Phillips Arena to begin Big East play, facing the UConn Huskies on Friday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m., and the Providence Friars on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 4 p.m.

Related stories:

• A season full of firsts for DePaul Volleyball 
• DePaul women’s basketball releases 2025-26 conference schedule, looks to ‘climb the ladder in the Big East’
• City Council honors DePaul coach Doug Bruno