Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Conference Twosome Visits Notre Dame For Weekend Action

Sept. 27, 2007

Game Notes
dot.gifspacer.gifDownload Free Acrobat Reader

After splitting its first two BIG EAST Conference matches of the 2007 season, the Notre Dame volleyball returns home for a weekend conference doubleheader with Seton Hall and Villanova.

The Irish fell in four games to Pittsburgh (Sept. 22) to begin conference play, but bounced back one day later to pick up a 3-1 win at West Virginia. Sophomore Serinity Phillips (Valley Center, Calif./Valley Center) leads the Irish offense with 3.34 kills/game after posting a career-high 23 kills against the Mountaineers.

Neither Seton Hall nor Villanova have ever won a head-to-head matchup with Notre Dame.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(5-7 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST)

Seton Hall Pirates
(9-6 overall, 0-2 BIG EAST)
Saturday, Sept. 29 2007 • 2:00 p.m.
Joyce Center • Notre Dame, Ind.
Series vs. Seton Hall: Notre Dame leads 12-0
Series Streak: Notre Dame – won 12
Last Meeting: Sept. 30, 2006 – Notre Dame, 3-0
Live Stats/Video/Audio: UND.com

Villanova Wildcats
(9-6 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST)
Sunday, Sept. 30 2007 • 2:00 p.m.
Joyce Center • Notre Dame, Ind.
Series vs. Villanova: Notre Dame leads 16-0
Series Streak: Notre Dame – won 16
Last Meeting: Sept. 24, 2006 – Notre Dame, 3-1
Live Stats/Video/Audio: UND.com

Last Time Out … Senior Adrianna Stasiuk, who was making her second start this season at the libero position, entered Sunday’s match at West Virginia sixth on the school’s all-time dig list … that was until her 17 scoops in the Notre Dame volleyball team’s 3-1 win against the Mountaineers put her ahead of fifth-place Danielle Herndon (2003-06) … Stasiuk now has 1,268 career ups, and after posting her second 10+ dig match in as many days, she is now tied with Christy Peters (1991-94) for second-place on the list for 10+ dig matches in a career (79) … the scores went 30-19, 23-30, 30-27, 30-27 in favor of the Irish (5-7 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST) as they wrapped up their first weekend of conference action at the WVU Coliseum … the Fighting Irish collectively hit .175 in the match, while holding the Mountaineers to a .114 team attack percentage … WVU (9-5 overall, 1-1 BIG EAST) was also held to a .000 mark in the final game … sixteen kills and only three errors led to a .302 hitting percentage for Notre Dame to kick off the match in game one … Phillips finished with a career-high 23 kills and had 11 digs in the double-double effort … Tarutis – who also turned in a double-double for the Irish – helped keep WVU scoreless early when her pancake lengthened play and led to a Mountaineer attack error to set the table at 3-0 … her dump shot put the Irish on top by five at 11-6 … momentum took a turn in the ensuing game as Notre Dame could not seem to find its rhythm … WVU took the lead in game two with a block by Abby Tevis and Lisa Hough to make the count 6-5 and added another score on an Irish error one point later … sophomore Jamel Nicholas laid down a kill to knot the count at 7-7 before the Mountaineers mounted a 10-4 scoring jolt to take a 17-11 lead and keep the game out of ND’s reach … WVU’s Kristina Gallahan copped an ace to tie the penultimate frame, 8-8, but Notre Dame found its groove and took a four-point edge, 17-13, when Sciacca and Phillips teamed for a block … WVU staged a three-point rally to go up, 20-19, but failed to further separate itself as the Irish caught a break when Stasiuk unleashed two kills to swing the score back in favor of her squad, 23-21 … she later darted an ace in the heart of the WVU defense (25-22), and Megan Fesl soon put down a kill then joined Sciacca for a block party to win the game point … the Irish recovered from their hitting hangover in game two (.071) with a .303 team mark in the third frame … Phillips and Stasiuk each knocked down five kills over the stretch … ND trailed, 7-2, in the young stages of game four and fought back to force a 9-9 score … the teams traded leads for the remainder of the game, but Notre Dame pepped its step on a soaring backrow attack by Phillips to tie it at 20-20 … Phillips added a tip, solo block, and two late kills to help the Irish capture the win.

History 101 …Notre Dame and Seton Hall will meet for the 13th time this season, having met once each year since the Irish became a member of the BIG EAST Conference in 1995 … head coach Debbie Brown won the 500th match of her career in Notre Dame’s 3-0 sweep at Seton Hall in 2006 (Sept. 30) … Brown became only the 28th coach in NCAA history to reach the 500-win plateau … during the win, Adrianna Stasiuk led the attack for Notre Dame with her 10th double-double of the season to go along with five blocks, and the Irish out-hit the Pirates .225 to .091 … the last time the Irish defense held a team to a sub-.100 hitting percentage was against Cincinnati on Nov. 19, 2005 … the Irish have won all 12 matches against Seton Hall and 36 of 37 games … in 2004, the Pirates broke through for their first game victory in a 30-24, 30-27, 26-30, 30-23 home defeat … ND is 6-0 at home, having won all 18 games … the 1996 match saw the Irish make just one service error, which is tied for the fewest ever in a match … in 1997, Notre Dame turned in its second-best hitting performance in school history, with 47 kills and just six errors on 80 attempts for a .512 percentage … the 2002 contest lasted just 1:14, making it the second-quickest affair since the 30-point format was adopted … former ND libero Meg Henican had 37 digs in the 2004 match, setting an Irish record for most digs in a four-game match … the Irish and Wildcats will meet for the 13th consecutive season and 17th time overall … Notre Dame won each of the previous 16 previous contests, including a pair of wins in 2005 … last season, Notre Dame dropped the first game before rattling off three straight in its 3-1 win … the 35-37 loss in the first game was the highest scoring individual game (72 points) for Notre Dame since 2003, when they topped Eastern Washington (Aug. 30) in game one, 37-35, which is tied for the highest scoring individual game in school history … the team’s hitting percentage of .345 was the highest Notre Dame has hit in a match longer than three games since a 2004 duel against Boston College … both Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas tallied over 20 assists against VU in the 2006 affair … the teams have played one five-game match, when 12th-ranked Notre Dame rallied from a 2-0 deficit to prevail in the Joyce Center during the 1996 campaign … the schools met once before Notre Dame joined the BIG EAST … that 1982 match at Villanova was won by the Irish in three games … ND and Villanova have played three times in the BIG EAST Championship, with the Irish winning in three games in the 1995 semifinals and in four games at the semifinals in 2005 … ND took four games in 1997 to win the league title … ND has been nationally ranked all three times it has played Villanova in the BIG EAST Championship … only five times in the series has Notre Dame needed more than three games to defeat VU … the Irish lead in games won, 45-7 … Notre Dame’s 16 victories against Villanova are the most without a defeat against any opponent … in 1999, the Irish turned in their third-highest hitting percentage in school history against VU, with 60 kills and just eight errors on 102 swings for a .510 mark.

Bring the Kids, Too …Irish fans will get more bang for their buck this weekend with several promotions planned for Saturday … two area musical groups have been slated to perform soon after the conclusion of the Notre Dame volleyball team’s match against Seton Hall … Pusle FM radio station has booked The Darsee Project, Jerimae Yoder, and 40 Miles North – a trio of bands with roots in the Northern Indiana area – for the concert … standard volleyball ticket prices apply for the show, though attendees must arrive before the match’s third game, when gates will then be closed in preparation for the event … fans that have purchased a ticket for the match can stay after the 2:00 p.m. (ET) contest for the concert and will not have to buy an additional ticket … early arrivers will receive a free t-shirt sponsored by Chili’s Restaurant … the Potawatomi Zoo of South Bend will also have a display on site with various animals, including reptiles and a macaw … in addition, a presentation of the animals will be done during the match’s intermission.

Game Four Was a Bottomless Pitt … Notre Dame downed conference foe Pittsburgh 15-straight times bewteen 1992-2002, but since then Pitt has taken five of the last seven meetings, including a 3-1 home win for the Panthers in 2007 … in that battle, Notre Dame combined to score 82 points with Pittsburgh in the fourth game of a match that was also both team’s BIG EAST Conference opener … there were 27 ties and 15 lead changes in the elongated period, and senior Adrianna Stasiuk contributed nine of her 14 kills in the game … the Irish set a school record for most points in a four-game match (131), and tied the program’s mark for the fourth-highest point total in an affair of any length … their 40 points in game four was the most ever won in a single game, eclipsing the previous high of 37 in game one of a 3-1 victory over Eastern Washington in 2003.

If the Jersey Fits … Adrianna Stasiuk started each of the matches during the opening conference weekend at the libero position, and even tied a season-high mark of 21 digs at Pittsburgh … Stasiuk fired home 14 kills in the final two games against the Panthers after being relieved of libero duties … she had 17 scoops at West Virginia and came one kill shy of recording her eighth-straight double-double … it was the first time the senior had not notched 10 or more kills in a match since the season opener against Minnesota.

(Taru) Tis Better To Give … Ashley Tarutis had 12 assists in game one against Pittsburgh to push her four-year total over 4,000 … she became the third player in school history to record atleast 4,000 in a career, joining Janelle Karlan (5,197: 1990-93) and Denis Boylan (4,687: 1997-2000) … Tarutis’ 47 assists against Missouri pushed her past Kristen Kinder (2000-03) for third-place on the school’s all-time assist list … the senior leads the Irish this season with 496 helpers (9.92/game).

The South Bend 500 … Five Irish players have now recorded at least 100 kills this season … Serinity Phillips (167), Megan Fesl (161), Adrianna Stasiuk (152), Kellie Sciacca (123) and Justine Stremick (106) have all joined the century club.

Line Fusion … A pair of shifts in the Irish starting lineup this past weekend by head coach Debbie Brown gave junior Mallorie Croal (at Pittsburgh) and sophomore Kim Kristoff (at West Virginia) their first starts of the season … Serinity Phillips, Kellie Sciacca, Megan Fesl, Justine Stremick, Adrianna Stasiuk, and Ashley Tarutis have all started each contest this year … two of Stasiuk’s starts have been at the libero spot … Croal, Kristoff, Megan Dunne (1), and Angela Puente (3) have also received starting nods.

Take Five …Serinity Phillips (14), Kellie Sciacca (14), Megan Fesl (13), Justine Stremick (10), and Adrianna Statsiuk (14) comprised the five-player group that had 10+ kills in a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh … the feat was a first for an Irish squad since Christina Kaelin (24), Mallorie Croal (14), Stremick (14) Stasiuk (13) and Fesl (13) did the same versus Missouri on Sept. 2, 2006 … ND dropped that match, 3-2.

Brown to Win … Debbie Brown notched her 500th career win as a head coach during the 2006 campaign, and her 509 win total ranked 27th in that category among active coaches entering the 2007 season … in fact, only two active coaches have more wins in as many seasons (Brown has coached 22 seasons overall) … she is three wins shy of No. 400 as Notre Dame’s head skipper.

Rolling In the Conference Honors … Middle blocker Kellie Sciacca was voted the league’s Freshman of the Week (9/17) after she posted career-best marks in every major statistical category for the Irish at the Bronco Invitational in Santa Clara, Calif. … Sciacca became the first Irish player to record 10+ blocks – since teammate Justine Stremick did so last season against Idaho – when she registered 10 against No. 11 California in Notre Dame’s 3-2 loss … she turned in the team’s highest individual hitting percentage of the season (.625) with a personal-best 16 kills against No. 22 Santa Clara while adding career-highs of three aces and six digs in the winning effort … she finished the three-match invite with 37 kills and a .361 mark over 14 games … Sciacca is currently second among Irish players with 1.20 blocks/game and first in hitting percentage (.317).

Who Has the Hot Hand?Notre Dame’s .272 hitting percentage in a 3-2 win over Santa Clara was the team’s best mark this season … the last time an Irish squad eclipsed that number was during a 2006 win over West Virginia (Nov. 12), when they also held the Mountaineers to an .062 average.

Hoisting the Hardware … Freshman Kellie Sciacca was recognized on the BIG EAST’s weekly honor roll (Sept. 10) after posting 15 kills (.524) and nine blocks against Alabama in the Shamrock Invitational, which she followed with a 12-kill performance vs. No. 13 Ohio … Megan Fesl was a part of the same list one week earlier (Sept. 3) after a 20-kill output at Missouri while earning all-tournament honors at the Tiger Invitational.

Alive In Five … Splitting five-game matches against No. 11 California and No. 22 Santa Clara gave the Irish a 3-2 record in extra-inning contests this season … the consecutive titls with Cal and Santa Clara were the first back-to-back five-game matches Notre Dame played since 2005, when they split a pair with Tennessee (L, 3-2) and Dayton (W, 3-2) … the Irish played a total of four five-gamers in 2006.

A Long Time Coming … A run of four losses to ranked teams this season came to an end when ND downed No. 22 Santa Clara … before doing so, the last ranked team Notre Dame dismantled was No. 24 St. John’s during the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament (Nov. 18).

Hello…Is It Me You’re Looking For?Coming off an injury, preseason all-BIG EAST choice Mallorie Croal saw her first action of the season in an Irish loss to California … Croal, who played sparingly, had a kill and two digs … she put together a band of seven consecutive double-doubles to end the 2006 season, which was the second longest streak in the record books.

Shining at the Shamrock …Two Irish players earned spots on the Shamrock Invitational all-tournament team, as Serinity Phillips and Megan Fesl represented Notre Dame after career weekends … Phillips had a (then) personal-high 18 kills against Alabama on 48 attempts, and her 12 digs in first-round action with College of Charleston was also a career-best … Fesl’s second 20-kill match of the season came against the Crimson Tide with a pair of aces … a career-high 5.0 blocks came against College of Charleston for the sophomore.

Block Party … Notre Dame totaled a season-high 21.0 blocks against College of Charleston while holding the Cougars to an attack percentage of .151 … seven Irish players recorded blocks, with Justine Stremick leading the way with nine … Serinity Phillips had seven and setter Ashley Tarutis got her hand rejected six shots … the 21.0 blocks was the first 20+ block match for Notre Dame since a Sept. 2 date with Idaho in 2006 … the Irish had 20.0 blocks in that 3-1 win.

Join the Club …In a five-game tilt with Alabama, Adrianna Stasiuk smashed the 1,000th kill of her career to tie game three at 25-25, and in doing so joined 16 other players in the program’s history to reach that plateau … she also became only the seventh Notre Dame player ever to register 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career, as Jamie Lee (1994-97) and Angie Harris (1994-97) were the last to do so … not too much later in the frame with the Irish ahead 29-28, Stasiuk connected on kill No. 1,002 to put the finishing touches on the Crimson Tide.

Sweet Home (Win Against) Alabama …The Irish were in a familiar – yet uncomfortable – spot during a 3-2 win over Alabama … just two matches earlier against Florida International, Notre Dame lost the first game and was trailed, 2-1, going into the third frame … instead of hitting the panic button, ND came back to win both matches to remain undefeated in five-game contests this season … several program milestones were eclipsed, which include the last time: a Notre Dame player had 20+ kills [Megan Fesl (20)]; five Notre Dame players had 10+ digs [Serinity Phillips (10), Ashley Tarutis (15), Megan Fesl (19), Adrianna Stasiuk (16), Angela Puente (15); four Notre Dame players had 15+ digs [Ashley Tarutis (15), Megan Fesl (19), Adrianna Stasiuk (16), Angela Puente (15)]; Notre Dame had 80+ digs (80); Notre Dame player hit .500+ [Kellie Sciacca (15-4-21, .524)]; Notre Dame hit .500+ as a team in a game … Sciacca’s .524 mark is third-best in school history for a five-game match … one week previous, the Irish set a school record by hitting .538 in game five against Florida International.

They’re Grrrrrreat!Both Megan Fesl and Serinity Phillips earned spots on the all-tournament team at Missouri’s Tiger Invitational after posting career performances … Fesl turned in a personal-best 20 kills against Florida International and a season-high 16 digs against Missouri … with 19.0 points against the Golden Panthers, Phillips set a career-high in that stat column … she also had a (then) season-high 15 kills and seven blocks in Notre Dame’s win over FIU.

Gimme Five…or Four …It’s nice when two or three players connect on 10+ kills in a match … but it’s even better when five can pull it off … that’s just what then-20th Notre Dame did when they faced Missouri last season, who was ranked 13th coming into the Sept. 2 match … Christina Kaelin (24), Mallorie Croal (14), Justine Stremick (14) Adrianna Stasiuk (13), and Megan Fesl (13) all had double-digit kill performances for Notre Dame … in the 2007 matchup, four Irish players hit the double-digit mark in that category: Serinity Phillips (11), Fesl (14), Stasiuk (10), and Stremick (13).

What a Difference a Year Makes … In game two against No. 13 Ohio, and attack from Tara Enzweiler got through the Bobcat defense to give ND a 16-14 lead … she soon assisted on a Megan Fesl kill to put the Irish ahead by three at 18-15 … it was not just a rare assist for the middle blocker, but a very rare assist … her last dish came exactly one year prior to the Ohio match against Kansas State at the Northern Iowa Invitational in Cedar Falls, Iowa (Sept. 9, 2006).

Haven’t We Met?When the Irish played College of Charleston, sophomore Tara Enzweiler and the Cougars’ Ginny Phillips were on opposite sides of the net for the first time since their prep days … the pair shared the court for Cardinal Gibbons HS in Raleigh, N.C., and also played on the same Triangle club team … Enzweiler led Cardinal Gibbons to state titles in 2003 and 2005 … Phillips was a part of the program’s championship team in 2005 and was able to add another to the resume in 2006 … Enzweiler speaks highly of the former teammate and her blocking ability … the two players spent this past summer training and working out together in the Raleigh area.

Are You Down for a Road Trip?Missouri’s Tiger Invitational was originally slated to be a four-team tournament … Florida A&M opted to withdraw from the event, leaving Notre Dame without a Sunday match due to the shifted schedule … instead, the Irish left Columbia for St. Louis several hours before their flight departed town to take in some sights … the squad made it to the top of the Gateway Arch and watched the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Cincinnati Reds in Busch Stadium … with the scoreboard chock full of zeroes, the Cards’ Rick Ankiel led off the sixth inning with a solo homer and soon stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call … but Irish manager Hy Pham may have drawn an even louder ovation from the patrons of section 367 for an earlier performance … Pham took the spotlight by downing two hotdogs and a chicken sandwich – which was followed with a large soda – before the midway point of the first inning … Pham claims he has never used performance-enhancing drugs … Notre Dame also visited the University of Missouri Children’s Hospital on Saturday morning before playing Florida International later that evening … while there, they passed out Notre Dame volleyball collectables in addition to quite a few hugs, smiles, and laughs with patients.

Volleyball’s Cal Ripken … Ashley Tarutis saw action in each of Notre Dame’s eight games over the course of the Tiger Invitational, which then pushed her total of consecutive games played to a school-record 365 … libero Meg Henican played in 363 straight games between Nov. 17, 2002 – Dec. 9, 2005 … Tarutis is the only player in the history of the program to play in each game of every match (400 of 400) throughout a career … next on the list is Lauren Brewster (.969 – 444/458) … Tarutus is also one of four players to play in every career match.

Check Next Door … There may have been a lot of head scratching going on when fans made their way to the Joyce Center’s main arena to watch Notre Dame battle No. 7 Florida on Aug. 26 … the arena was being used for a freshmen orientation session, and as a result, the Joyce Center Fieldhouse hosted its first-ever volleyball match … the televised competition was played in front of 721 fans.

Four Hands Are Better Than Two … Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas passed out 35 and 20 assists, respectively, in an Irish loss against No. 7 Florida … the occasion marked the second time in three matches that Notre Dame had two players record 20+ assists … the same duo accomplished the feat in the 2006 finale against No. 10 Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament … Tarutis had 45 assists with Nicholas adding 21 in the BIG EAST opener at Pittsburgh.

Must Have Been Something She Ate … When Notre Dame cracked open the lid on the 2007 season, Serinity Phillips had three kills on 14 attempts with two errors for a .071 average against Minnesota … whatever she did on her day off between Friday evening and Sunday’s match with Florida must have worked … Phillips responded with a career-best .583 hitting percentage with 14 kills on 24 swats without an error … previously, Christina Kaelin (12-2-18, .556) was the last Irish player to hit .500+ when she did so in a 3-2 win at Cincinnati in 2006.

How’ve You Been Doing?Notre Dame’s non-conference opponents on the 2007 schedule went a combined 23-5 (.821) in the season’s opening week … at the time, seven of those squads were ranked in the CSTV/AVCA’s top-25 … not one of the 12 teams ended the week below .500

This Too Shall Pass … Not since 1990 has Notre Dame dropped its first two matches to start a season, albeit the pair of losses to kick off 2007 came against top-10 squads … that made five-straight losses for the Irish dating back to a 3-2 setback against Louisville on Nov. 19, 2006, which was the longest streak since the program dropped seven straight matches – twice – in 1990 … a five-game win over Florida International on Sept. 1 christened the win column for the Irish in 2007.

Another BIG (EAST) One … Senior Adrianna Stasiuk, a 2006 all-BIG EAST first team selection, was one of five unanimous selections on the league’s 2007 preseason squad, joining Kimberley Todd (Marquette), Diana Andreyko (Pittsburgh), and preseason co-players of the year Hui Ping Huang (St. John’s) and Tatyana Kolesnikova (Louisville) … she took home second-team hardware as a sophomore, the same year she won the BIG EAST Championship’s Most Outstanding Player award.

Starting Fresh … Two freshmen cracked the starting lineup in their first collegiate match against Minnesota in ND’s opener … Kellie Sciacca had six kills and got her hand on a pair of blocks while Angela Puente had eight digs from the libero position … the pair narrowly made it back from a freshmen orientation session to catch the start of the duel with Florida two days later.

Get `em While They’re Hot …Opening a season with highly ranked opponents is nothing new to the Irish … Purdue was the first ranked team Notre Dame ever faced to open a season … the Boilermakers were 10th in 1984 when they downed ND … the Irish played a top-10 foe two weeks into the 1995 season in the Notre Dame Invitational … after beating Northwestern, #9 USC won the second match, 3-0 … #6 Pacific was ND’s third opponent in 1999 and downed the Irish, 3-0, in the Shamrock Invitational … Notre Dame had won its first two matches of the season over unranked opponents … an unranked Irish team traveled to the Four Points Sheraton Classic in Malibu, Calif., to start the 2003 season … they beat #10 Arizona, 3-1, before losing to host Pepperdine, who was ranked 5th-best in the nation … in the following week’s poll, Notre Dame jumped to the 21st spot … after opening with a home win against Loyola (Ill.) in 2004, ND suffered a pair of losses to #4 Nebraska at the Joyce Center.

Why Not Both?Adrianna Stasiuk reached double figures in digs 24 times in 2006, which placed her seventh on that list for a single season … her streak of 10 consecutive matches with 10+ digs (Sept 17-Oct. 20, 2006) is tied for the fourth-longest streak in a single season … she has six 10+ digs efforts in 2007.

Closing In … Sophomore Christina Kaelin had five 20+-kill matches last season to finish tied for sixth in a single season … Christy Peters holds the all-time single season mark of nine (1994) … after one season, Kaelin is one spot shy Notre Dame’s all-time top-10 list for career 20+-kill matches.

Spoiling the Party … The Irish had never dropped a home opener under head coach Debbie Brown since she took over the program in 1991 until this season’s loss to Minnesota … the defeat also marked the first time an Irish team had not started a season – at home or away – with a win since they fell 3-1 to Montana in the 1990 opener.

Re-Joyce Center …Notre Dame is now 21-7 in home openers and had won its last 17 before falling to Minnesota … previously, the last time the Irish dropped an opener in the Joyce Center was in 1989 to Western Michigan, 3-2, in the Notre Dame Invitational … before this season, no ND team has started play on its home court with back-to-back matches against top-10 teams.

And You Thought You Had It Bad …Not only did Notre Dame face two top-10 squads in the season’s first weekend, but seven of its 13 non-conference opponents were ranked among the nation’s top 25 in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Preseason Poll … additionally, three more non-conference foes along with Louisville and St. John’s received votes in the standings … the RichKern.com Poll had eight future Irish opponents in its preseason top-30, with five more appearing within the following 10 spots.

–ND–