Queens, N.Y. - St. John's volleyball (15-5, BIG EAST 1-2) will host No. 10 Notre Dame (11-1, BIG EAST 3-0) on Saturday, Oct. 8 and will welcome BIG EAST newcomer DePaul University (3-11, BIG EAST 0-3) on Sunday, Oct. 9. The games this weekend are the first of seven BIG EAST contests to be held at Carnesecca Arena. First serve for both games is 2 p.m.

THE SERIES: The Fighting Irish lead the series against St. John's 10-0. St. John's and DePaul played each other for the first time last fall in the IPFW Invitational. St. John's owns the series at 1-0.

STORMWATCH: Shameka Mitchell (Lakeland, Fla.) continues to lead the Red Storm in kills with 3.64 per game. Mitchell is also second on the team in blocks with 0.74 per game and commands a .304 hitting percentage. LaToya Blunt (Vacaville, Calif.) is second on the team in kills with 3.34 per game and is third on the team in blocks with 46.

Setter Lisa Tedder (Coos Bay, Ore.) continues to lead the Red Storm with 7.70 assists per game, whereas Anicia Wood (Wotton Terrace, Barbados) continues to lead total blocks with 63. The new talent on the Red Storm's lineup have been more than excelling on the court. Libero Kathleen Yee (Honolulu, Hawaii) has been a constant source of strength for the back line, posting 264 digs. Hui Ping Huang (The Republic of China) and Casie Brooks (Victorville, Calif.) have also been constants for the Red Storm. Huang is third on the team in kills and in digs. Brooks is second on the team in assists with 417 and leads the Red Storm with 28 service aces.

In St. John's last contest, Huang recorded a match-high and personal-best 18 kills against Seton Hall University. Also standing out for St. John's was junior Patti Hardiman (Honolulu, Hawaii), who gained 12 digs and a match-high six service aces.

SCOUTING THE IRISH: The Irish began the year 7-0, upsetting No. 11 Texas, No. 8 USC and No. 6 Florida. Notre Dame welcomes back senior middle blockers Lauren Brewster and Carolyn Cooper. Brewster is first on the team with 1.52 blocks per game. Brewster also received 2005 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year, was named BIG EAST Player of the Week twice for Sept. 5 and Sept. 12 and was National Player of the Week on Sept. 5.

The Irish also returns sophomore setter Ashley Tarutius. Tarutius leads the BIG EAST in assists (12.43 per game). Senior outside hitter Lauren Kelbley averages 5.00 kills on a .403 hitting percentage.

In Notre Dame's last contest, they topped Marquette 3-1. Brewster had a team high 16 kills in the four games. Carolyn Cooper tallied six blocks, while Tarutius added another 51 assists to her record. The Fighting Irish barely out hit the Golden Eagles 24 to 20 percent.

LAST TIME OUT WITH THE FIGHTING IRISH: The Red Storm fell to Notre Dame 3-0 (16-30, 17-30, 20-30) on Oct. 24, 2004 in South Bend, Ind. St. John's was led by Blunt who notched eight kills. However, aggressive serving by Tarutius gave the Irish game one. Adrianna Stasiuk's dominating kills won game two for Notre Dame and the efforts of Kelbley closed the third game for Notre Dame.

EXAMINING THE BLUE DEMONS: DePaul University, under the direction of head coach Dawn Dockstader, returns seven letterwinners and welcomes three newcomers to its lineup. The 2004 Blue Demon's were led by Mandy Moorberg and Morgan Ingersoll. Moorberg commanded 411 kills and 308 digs, while Ingersoll had 324 kills and 48 total blocks.

Moorberg continues to lead the 2005 squad with 2.93 kills per game and 161 total digs. Freshman setter Mandi Caputo currently posts 11.89 assists per game and is first on the team with 18 service aces. Freshman middle blocker Christina Correa leads the defensive with 42 total blocks.

Before facing St. John's on Sunday, DePaul will first see the University of Connecticut on Saturday afternoon. In its last match against Syracuse this past weekend, DePaul fell 3-1. The game marked the Blue Demon's third consecutive BIG EAST loss. The Blue Demon's junior middle blocker Ellen Hayes led with 14 kills on a .458 hitting percentage and Correa added four blocks.

LAST TIME OUT WITH THE BLUE DEMONS: In the second match of the 2004 IPFW Volleyball Invitational on Sept. 25, 2004, the Red Storm topped the Blue Demons 3-2 (25-30, 30-24, 30-25, 20-30, 15-10). Tedder, Blunt and Wood led the Red Storm in victory over the Blue Demons.

In the deciding game, the two teams were tied throughout the sixth point until St. John's pulled ahead 8-6 to switch sides. Unstoppable efforts at the net by Jackie Ahlers and Wood gave St. John's the 15-10 win.

ON DECK FOR ST. JOHN'S: The Red Storm returns to action on Friday, Oct. 14 against the Huskies of UCONN (8-7, BIG EAST 1-2). The University of Connecticut leads the series 9-2. The game will be held at Carnesecca Arena on the Queens campus and game time is 7 p.m.

For the most up-to-date information and statistics on St. John's Athletics, please visit www.RedStormSports.com, or call our hotline at 1-888-GO-STORM.

- Red Storm -