Musketeers Play Host to DePaul on Friday Night

Friday, November 9

Cincinnati, Ohio

7 p.m.

Xavier University

DePaul

Musketeers Play Host to DePaul on Friday Night

11.07.18 | Volleyball

Live Stats Watch Live XU Notes (PDF)

First serve is slated for 7 p.m. from Cintas Center

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

CINCINNATI - Xavier volleyball concludes the home portion of its schedule on Nov. 9-11 at Cintas Center. The Musketeers (9-16, 7-7 BIG EAST) take on the Blue Demons (5-20, 3-11 BIG EAST) on Friday at 7 p.m. and the Golden Eagles (22-5, 12-2 BIG EAST) on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Friday's contest will be the team's Heart Health Awareness match.

THE MATCHUP VS DEPAUL

XAVIER MUSKETEERS (9-16, 7-7) vs DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS (5-20, 3-11)
Match Info - Friday, Nov. 9 - 7 p.m. ET - Cintas Center
Live stats - bit.ly/2BQZu3r
Live video - bit.ly/2PARtFL

ABOUT DEPAUL

2018 Record: 5-20 (3-11 BIG EAST)
2017 Postseason: None
Series History: Xavier leads, 16-6
Last Meeting: DPU 3, XU 1 - 10/10/18

NOTABLES
• DePaul was picked to finish 10th in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll after posting a 9-22 (2-16 BIG EAST) record last year. Senior Brittany Maxwell earned preseason all-conference honors.
• The Blue Demons are led by first-year head coach Marie Zidek. She was previously an assistant coach at San Diego (2014-17) where she helped the Toreros advance to four straight NCAA Tournaments. Zidek also spent time as an assistant coach at DePaul from 2010-12.
• DePaul ranks last in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills, blocks and aces.
• Avarie Evans-Allen ranks seventh in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.327) and Isabelle Banez ranks fourth in digs (4.65).

SERIES HISTORY - DEPAUL

• Xavier leads the all-time series against DePaul, 16-5. The loss earlier this season snapped a five-match win streak in the series for Xavier.

LAST TIME OUT VS DEPAUL

• Xavier posted a season-high 10 aces in the four-set loss (23-25, 21-25, 25-17, 20-25) at DePaul earlier this season. The 10 aces were the most by a Xavier team since Oct. 10, 2015 against Seton Hall (10 aces). Sophomore Audrey Adams led the team with four, while senior Meredith Klare added two.

• Senior Laura Grossman led the Musketeers with 13 kills. Classmate Morgan Finn added 10 kills and sophomore Audrey Adams chipped in eight.

• Xavier had seven more total team blocks (11-4) than DePaul. Sophomore Audrey Adams and freshman Mackenzie Mangette led the Musketeers with six each.

• Senior Meredith Klare led the Musketeers in digs (11), while junior Madi Kutruff posted 10. Sophomore Nadia Dieudonne recorded a match-high 23 assists and senior McKena Esteshad 15 assists.

BIG EAST WEEKLY HONORS

• Senior Laura Grossman was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll on Monday. She earns weekly honors from the conference office for the third time this season.

• The outside hitter posted a match-high 13 kills to go along with 18 digs against Butler on Friday night, her third straight double-double and eighth of the season. The Musketeers swept the season series against the Bulldogs with a three-set victory.

BIG EAST HONOREES

Nov. 6	Laura Grossman	Weekly Honor Roll
Oct. 30	Meredith Klare	Weekly Honor Roll
Oct. 23	Meredith Klare	Defensive Player of the Week
Oct. 16	Laura Grossman	Offensive Player of the Week
Oct. 9	Meredith Klare	Weekly Honor Roll
Oct. 2	Audrey Adams	Weekly Honor Roll
Aug. 28	Laura Grossman	Weekly Honor Roll

LAST TIME OUT

• Xavier is coming off a three-set (26-24, 26-24, 25-23) win over Butler on Friday night. The Musketeers won the season series, 2-0, over the Bulldogs.

• Senior Laura Grossman posted her third straight double-double and eighth of the season, recording a team-high 13 kills to go along with 18 digs. Freshman Norah Painter added nine kills, while senior Morgan Finn chipped in eight.

• Defensively, senior Meredith Klare posted a match-high 21 digs. The libero added three assists.

• Sophomore Nadia Dieudonne recorded a team-high 22 assists to go along with six digs. Senior McKena Estes added 13 assists and nine digs.

• The match featured 23 ties and nine lead changes. Neither team led by more than five points throughout the match.

• Xavier had its streak of eight matches with 10 or more blocks snapped. The Bulldogs held an 18-5 advantage at the net. Butler also had two more aces (3-1).

KLARE - RECORD WATCH

• Senior Meredith Klare has 1,895 career digs to rank second all-time in program history. Stephanie Vorherr (2009-12) holds the program record with 2,152 digs.

• The Union, Ky., native posted 520 digs a year ago, the fourth most in single-season school history.

NOTABLES

• Senior Meredith Klare leads the team in digs (4.50 d/s) this season. In BIG EAST only matches, she ranks third in digs (4.98 d/s). The libero led the BIG EAST in digs per set (4.37) last year and finished the year ranked 88th nationally in total digs.

• Freshman Jayda Carlton leads the Musketeers in blocks with 100, while ranking 61st nationally overall and 11th among freshmen. The middle blocker is averaging 1.20 blocks per set to rank third in the BIG EAST. In conference only matches, she is averaging 1.41 blocks per set rank third in the BIG EAST.

• Audrey Adams ranks third in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.347), while ranking 79th nationally. The middle blocker has increased her hitting percentage to .368 in conference matches. She also ranks second on the team in kills (2.23 k/s).

• In BIG EAST only matches, Xavier leads the conference in digs (16.62), while ranking second in blocks (2.62) and third in opponent hitting percentage (.190).

NOTABLE PERFORMANCES

• Freshman Jayda Carlton posted a match-high 12 blocks against St. John's, tying the school record for single-match blocks. Alexis Newsome posted 12 blocks against St. John's last season on Oct. 7. The 12 blocks are also the most by a BIG EAST player this season, while ranking 12th in the NCAA.

• Xavier posted 11 more total team blocks (21-10) than the Red Storm. The 21 total team blocks are the second-most by a BIG EAST team this season, while ranking ninth in the NCAA.

• Freshman Mackenzie Mangette had five aces in the four-set win at Seton Hall. The five aces rank tied for second in single-match aces in the BIG EAST this season.

FIRST SERVE

• Xavier played its first eight matches on the road. The Musketeers traveled to the Puerto Rico Clásico on Aug. 31-Sept. 2 and the Purdue Tournament on Sept. 7-8.

• The Musketeers hosted their own tournament at Cintas Center on Sept. 14-15. Xavier faced Indiana, Eastern Kentucky and crosstown rival Cincinnati during tournament action.

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

• Xavier will play three teams that finished the year ranked in the AVCA Coaches' Poll: No. 16 Creighton, No. 18 Purdue and No. 20 Missouri.

• The Musketeers take on five teams that participated in the 2017 NCAA Tournament (Missouri, Purdue, Louisville, Creighton and Marquette). Twelve of the Musketeers 21 opponents posted a winning record last year.

• The Musketeers' 21 opponents combined to post a 351-292 last season with a .546 winning percentage. Xavier's opponents averaged 16.7 wins a year ago.

• Xavier will face teams from 11 different conferences this year, including teams from the Big Ten, ACC, PAC-12 and Big 12.

• The Musketeers will face three teams for the first time in program history this fall: Oklahoma, Arizona State and Indiana. The meetings with Northern Illinois and Towson will only be the second meetings in school history.

ABOUT THE TEAM

• Xavier graduated five seniors in Lauren Frilling, Samantha Foti, Kristen Massa, Alexis Newsome and Mackenzi Humm.

• The Musketeers return nine letterwinners from last year, including six upperclassmen. Xavier will have five seniors on the team this fall.

• Xavier added six newcomers to the 2018 roster in Jayda Carlton, Ellie Chaffee, Kelly Franxman, Mackenzie Mangette, Norah Painter and Ryan Shannon.

• Xavier players have earned AVCA All-American honors nine times in the last 13 years. Abbey Bessler most recently earned AVCA All-American honorable mention team honors in 2016.

BIG EAST NOTES

• Xavier opened BIG EAST play on Sept. 21 at St. John's. Seven of Xavier's first 11 conference matches are on the road.

• Xavier has posted a 75-53 record in BIG EAST play since joining the conference in 2013. The Musketeers have advanced to the conference tournament in three of their four seasons in the BIG EAST.

• Creighton will host the 2018 BIG EAST Tournament after being held at Marquette in 2017.

NEW ASSISTANT COACHES

• Xavier added two new assistant coaches during the offseason in Katie Meyer and Ali Butcher. Meyer was named an assistant coach in January of 2018 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Ursuline College.

• Butcher was named a volunteer assistant coach in August of 2018. She previously worked at Elevation Volleyball Club for two years, serving as an assistant to the club directors while also working as a club coach.

PRESEASON POLL

• The Musketeers were picked to finish tied for sixth in the preseason BIG EAST Coaches' Poll. Xavier was tied with St. John's in sixth place, while Marquette was picked to win the conference title.

UP NEXT

• Xavier ends its home schedule on Sunday, Nov. 11 against No. 18 Marquette at 12:30 p.m. The match will serve as Senior Day for the Musketeers' five seniors.