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Nov. 14, 2006
THIS WEEK: The Irish (16-11, 10-4 BIG EAST) will start play in the BIG EAST Championship as the fifth seed. The Irish will begin the road in their quest for their 10th BIG EAST Tournament title against fourth seed Cincinnati (21-6, 10-4 BIG EAST) on Friday, Nov. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati. The winner will move on to the semi-finals against the winner of No. 1 seed St. John’s/No. 8 seed South Florida at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 18.
QUICK HITS ABOUT THE IRISH: Below are some highlights of the note package. For more details on any topic, consult the remainder of the release.
* Notre Dame split a pair of BIG EAST matches over the weekend, dropping a crucial four gamer to Pittsburgh before rallying to defeat West Virginia.
* Notre Dame will be the fifth seed in the upcoming BIG EAST Championship and square off against fourth seed and host school Cincinnati.
* The last BIG EAST host school to win a BIG EAST Championship was Notre Dame in 2000. Overall Notre Dame is 22-2 in the BIG EAST Championship and has taken home the crown nine times.
* The Irish recently had a pair of players honored recently as both junior Adrianna Stasiuk and sophomore Justine Stremick were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 5 Volleyball Team. Stasiuk was a first-team selection and Stremick was a third-teamer. Stasiuk will move on to Academic All-America ballot by virtue of her being a first-team member.
* Freshman Serinity Phillips led the attack with 15 kills against Pittsburgh.
* Sophomore Mallorie Croal posted a double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs.
* Croal, Adrianna Stasiuk and Danielle Herndon all tied 17 digs. This was the first time that three Irish players have totaled 15+ digs in a match since the NCAA Tournament match against Wisconsin (12/5).
* Junior setter Ashley Tarutis set a season best with 46 assists.
* This was only the second match all season long that Notre Dame has lost after winning the first game further this was only the second Notre Dame loss in four games this season.
* Also this was the first time Notre Dame has fallen when they hit at a higher percentage than their opponents (.158-to-.148).
* Mallorie Croal led the attack against the Mountaineers with 17 kills. She also tallied 17 digs for the second consecutive match.
* Freshman Megan Fesl hit .438 to pace the team, as Notre Dame hit .308 as a team.
* Senior Danielle Herndon and senior manager Megan McGuire were both honored before the match.
* Junior Adrianna Stasiuk totaled her 15 double-double of the season in the match (11 kills and 10 digs).
* West Virginia was held to a hitting percentage of .062, the fifth time as Irish opponent has been held to a hitting percentage of under .100 this season.
* Junior Adrianna Stasiuk has had good all-around number in her career against Cincinnati with an average of 2.67 kills per game and 3.17 digs per game.
* Ashley Tarutis averages 10.56 assists per game in her career against Cincinnati
* Sophomore Mallorie Croal after her double-double against Cincinnati this season is averaging 3.33 kills and 4.33 digs per game.
* With Debbie Brown at the helm the Irish are 4-1 against Cincinnati and 5-1 overall, including a 3-0 victory over Cincinnati in the 2005 BIG EAST Championship.
* Coach Brown and Notre Dame are 22-2 in BIG EAST Championship action and have won nine league titles. * Since Brown took over in 1991, Notre Dame has won 13 titles in 15 seasons including the Midwest Collegiate Championship titles.
* Notre Dame has now traveled 18,561.59 miles this season through the South Florida trip back home.
* Christina Kaelin has 20 blocks this season but 10 (50 percent) are solo blocks, by far the highest percentage on the team.
* Three Notre Dame volleyball players have played in all 93 games this season (Justine Stremick, Ashley Tarutis, and Danielle Herndon). Another trends includes Notre Dame has used 10 different starting lineups this season, all of which have featured at least two freshman and sometimes as many as four.
* A few Notre Dame volleyball players are quickly moving up the career and season charts. Junior Adrianna Stasiuk with her 20 double digit digs matches this season now has 64 in her career, which is fourth all-time in the double figure dig mark. She also has totaled 39 double-doubles, which is third all-time on that list.
* Ashley Tarutis with her 688 assists this season now has 3,411 assists in her career, which is fourth all-time having just passed Taryn Collins.
* Freshman Christina Kaelin with five 20+-kill matches this year is just out of the top-10 all-time for career matches with 20+ kills for the Irish.
* Danielle Herndon is quickly moving up the career digs list. She now has 1,157 digs in her career, which is good for seventh all-time. Herndon’s 22 times leading the team in digs this season is third in a single season at Notre Dame having just passed Christy Peters (1993) and Meg Henican (2003). Herndon’s 466 digs this year is the fifth highest single season total in the record books for Notre Dame
* Adrianna Stasiuk has recorded 15 double-doubles in the first 23 matches.
* No individual Notre Dame player is ranked among the top-10 in the BIG EAST in assists, yet the Irish thanks to both setters, Jamel Nicholas and Ashley Tarutis, are third in the conference in assists (14.55).
* Justine Stremick currently is fifth in the conference in blocks per game with an average of 1.42. Her 23 solo blocks are second in the conference.
* Justine Stremick’s 130 total blocks this year is more than her next two teammates combined.
* Danielle Herndon is fourth in the BIG EAST with her average of 5.01 digs per game. The Irish are second in the BIG EAST with an average of 17.52 digs per game.
* The Irish are second in the conference in kills per game 15.78, despite not having a single individual ranked among the top-10.
* In BIG EAST play only the Irish are second in the league in hitting percentage (.266), third in service aces per game (1.76) and third in kills (16.27) and blocks (3.11).
* Since the beginning of conference play sophomore Justine Stremick is fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.390)
* The Irish are 6-2 in four game matches this season.
* Notre Dame has had success on the first day of road trips going 5-2 in defeating Alabama, Butler, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Georgetown.
* The Irish are 7-0 on Friday’s this season.
* In road games this season, Adrianna Stasiuk is averaging 2.71 kills per game and 2.84 digs per game.
* Notre Dame completed its 2006 regular season home schedule ranking 14th nationally in attendance with an average of 1,849 fans per game.
* With the victory over Seton Hall on Saturday, Sept. 30, head coach Debbie Brown became only the 28th NCAA volleyball coach to reach the 500-win milestone. Her record now stands at 504-215 in her 22 years as collegiate head coach at Arizona State and Notre Dame.
* Notre Dame has high hopes for the upcoming 2006 campaign as the squad returns three starters and seven monogram winners.
* Joining the strong nucleus this season is one the highest ranked freshman classes in the country (third by Volleyball Magazine and fifth by PrepVolleyball.com).
* Head Coach Debbie Brown returns for her 16th season at the helm of volleyball program and signed a new contract extension in the off-season.
* Two additions to the coaching staff this season are former Virginia Tech head coach Greg Smith and Kevin Lane.
* Notre Dame takes on nine teams in 10 matches this season that were participants in the 2005 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
* Notre Dame had four home matches on home football weekends this season and went 3-1 in with victories over Marquette, Syracuse and Connecticut and a loss to St. John’s.
* Danielle Herndon is the lone senior on the team, the first time since 1983 that the Notre Dame roster has had only have one senior.
* Over the last 16 years Notre Dame is an impressive 187-32 (.854) at the Joyce Center.
* The Fighting Irish have compiled an overall record of 129-10 (.928) including a record of 71-2 at the Joyce Center during regular season play against BIG EAST competition since joining the conference in 1995.
* This is the 35th anniversary of women’s athletics at Notre Dame, in celebration the volleyball team and the female athletic teams at Notre Dame will wear special patches on their uniforms this season. There will also be a special celebration in April. For more information see the info located toward the back of this notes package.
SCOUTING CINCINNATI: The Bearcats enter the weekend as the fourth seed by virtue of the BIG EAST tiebreaker system … Cincinnati is playing well as they closed out the regular season with thee straight victories are riding an 8-1 streak in the last nine matches … UC much like the last time Notre Dame played them are a very balanced attack … sophomore Jessica Elley is the team leader with 329 kills … she also has 94 blocks and 311 digs … Jessie Nevitt is second on the team with 293 kills and leads the team and is among the conference leaders with 159 blocks … Nevitt was also was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time this season on Nov. 13 … Myanna Hellsten and Jenny Custer have each totaled 282 kills … senior setter Noel Olson has tallied 1,178 helpers this season … UC is one of the best defensive teams in the BIG EAST and led the league in opponents hitting percentage (.141) and blocks (3.51) … the Bearcats are coached by Reed Sunahara, a former great men’s volleyball player that led UCLA to two national titles.
SERIES VS. CINCINNATI: The Irish and Bearcats will play for the sixth time since 2000 and the seventh time overall … this will be Notre Dame’s second-ever trip to play at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati … ND has an overall record of 20-15 in matches in the state of Ohio … Notre Dame before its 3-0 loss to the Bearcats this season (Oct. 28), had won all five previous matches against Cincinnati … in that match this season the Irish fell 3-0 (20-30, 28-30, 22-30) … Mallorie Croal led the attack against UC this season with 10 kills, 13 digs and six blocks … the most-recent BIG EAST Championship match came in the 2005 BIG EAST Championship match between these two teams was in the Louisville, with the #8 Irish winning 30-20, 30-20, 30-14 … current junior Ellen Heintzman had eight kills and five blocks in the contest … earlier in the season ND won all three games over the Bearcats by the margin of 30-24, 30-27, 30-27 … ND has been ranked in the top 25 in four of the last five contests … the Irish hold a 15-5 advantage in games won in the series … the first-ever match between the teams was a five-game affair in the 1987 Eastern Kentucky Colonel Invitational in Richmond (15-10 in the fifth) … the schools then did not play again until ND won 15-2, 15-12, 15-10 in the opening round of the 2000 NCAA tournament in Columbus, Ohio … one of the top players in the early history of ND’s program hailed from Cincinnati: OH Mary Jo Hensler (1981-84, Mother of Mercy H.S.) … another Cincinnati native, S/H Jenny Reilly (St. Ursula H.S.), was on the Irish roster in 1990, but did not see action … this will be Notre Dame’s second trip to Ohio since 2000 when the Fighting Irish played Ohio State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament … ND’s Zanette Bennett cranked 31 kills against the Bearcats in the ’87 match, a total which stands tied for the third-highest ever by an Irish player in any-length match … she finished with a .529 hitting mark (4 errors, 51 attempts) in that match, which is the second-highest mark in program history in a five-game affair.
HISTORY IN THE BIG EAST TOURNAMENT: Notre Dame has reached the finals of the BIG EAST Championship all 11 years since becoming a league member in 1995, winning eight titles (1995-98, 2000-02, 04-05) and holding a 22-2 (.917) record (tops in the conference) … in 2005, at the time #8 ND beat #7 Louisville in a thriller 3-2 in the finals … to get to the championship game the Irish beat Villanova 3-1 and Cincinnati 3-0 … Notre Dame junior outside hitter Adrianna Stasiuk was the tournament MVP … Stasiuk became the ninth Notre Dame player to be named the Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player since 1995 … this will be Notre Dame’s second trip to Cincinnati since 1990 (the first is the regular season match-up with the Bearcats) … Pitt’s 10 titles (1982, ’84, ’86, ’88-94, 2003) are the most by any school, with Notre Dame’s nine as the next-highest total … the Joyce Center has played host to the BIG EAST tournament three times (1995, 2000, and ’03)
LAST WEEK: The Fighting Irish split a pair of BIG EAST matches over the weekend, dropping a crucial four-gamer to Pittsburgh before rallying to defeat West Virginia. Notre Dame will be the fifth seed in the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament and take on the fourth seeded and host school Cincinnati Bearcats at 6 p.m. on Nov. 17.
INTERESTING SIDE NOTE: The last BIG EAST host school to win a BIG EAST Championship was Notre Dame in 2000. Overall Notre Dame is 22-2 in BIG EAST Championship and has taken home the crown nine times.
STASIUK AND STREMICK HONORED: The Irish had a pair of players honored recently as both junior Adrianna Stasiuk and sophomore Justine Stremick were named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 5 Volleyball team. Stasiuk, a first-team selection with a 3.74 grade-point average as an accounting major, was named to the District 5 Volleyball team for the second time in her career. By virtue of her being a first-team selection she will move on to the Academic All-America ballot to be voted upon along with the 49 other first team members on the national ballot. Stremick was a third-team selection, as she had a 3.68 grade-point average as a science pre-professional major.
NOTES FROM THE PITTSBURGH MATCH: Notre Dame had several noteworthy performances from the Panthers match.
* Freshman Serinity Phillips led the attack with 15 kills.
* Sophomore Mallorie Croal posted a double-double with 13 kills and 17 digs.
* Croal, Adrianna Stasiuk and Danielle Herndon all totaled 17 digs. This was the first time since last December in the NCAA Tournament match against #12 Wisconsin that three Irish players have totaled 15+ assists in the same match
* Junior setter Ashley Tarutis set a season best with 46 assists.
* This was only the second match all season that Notre Dame has lost after winning the first game.
* This was only the second four game loss of the season for the Irish.
* Further, this was the first time the Irish had fallen when they had a higher hitting percentage than their opponent. (.158 to .148)
NOTES FROM THE WEST VIRGINIA MATCH: Notre Dame had a few noteworthy performances from the Mountaineers match.
* Mallorie Croal led the attack with 13 kills. She also posted 17 digs for her second consecutive double-double of the season.
* Croal had a hitting percentage of .429. As a team Notre Dame hit .308 with freshman Megan Fesl leading the team with a .438.
* For the second consecutive match Danielle Herndon tallied 17 digs.
* Herndon and senior manager Megan McGuire were both honored before the match in a senior ceremony.
* Adrianna Stasiuk totaled 15th double-double of the season and second of the weekend with 11 kills and 10 digs.
* As a team Notre Dame hit .308 to .062 from West Virginia.
* This was the fifth time Notre Dame has held an opponent under a .100 hitting percent this season.
AGAINST THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS:
* Junior Adrianna Stasiuk has good all-around numbers against Cincinnati with an average of 2.67 kills per game and 3.17 digs per game in her career.
* Junior Ashley Tarutis averages 10.56 assists per game against the Cincinnati.
* Senior Danielle Herndon is averaging 7.33 digs per game against the Bearcats this season.
* Sophomore Mallorie Croal based off her double-double performance against the Bearcats earlier this season is tallying 3.33 kills per game and 4.33 digs per contest.
* Freshman Christina Kaelin made a solid impact against Cincinnati the last time these two teams hooked up as she tallied 13 kills and a career-best seven digs.
* With Debbie Brown at the helm the Irish are 4-1 all-time against Cincinnati and 5-1 overall including the victory in the 2005 BIG EAST Championships.
*Coach Brown has led the Irish to a record of 22-2 in BIG EAST league championship matches since joining the conference in 1995. In league tournaments, counting the time in the Midwest Collegiate Conference, Coach Brown is 32-2 and has won 13 championship in her 15 years at the helm of Notre Dame
THE PLACES WE’VE GONE: Following the trip to South Florida for Notre Dame, the Irish have logged 18, 561.59 miles this season through bus and planes to destinations.
A LONE BLOCKER: Christina Kaelin has 20 blocks this season, but 10 (50 percent) of which are solo blocks, which is by far the largest percentage of solo blocks on the team.
THE IRON GROUP: Three Fighting Irish players have taken the court in all 93 games this season (Justine Stremick, Ashley Tarutis and Danielle Herndon). This group of three can be dubbed the “Iron Women” for taking the court in every game played this season.
A CONSISTANT CHANGE: The Fighting Irish have now used 10 different lineups this season. Every single one of the lineups combinations has used at least two rookies and sometimes as many as four rookies have been starting at the same time.
A WEEKLY WATCH: These are the individual player both season and career stats to be on the lookout for this week.
* Junior Adrianna Stasiuk with her 20 double figure digs matches this season now has 64 in her career, which is fourth all-time. Her 15 double-doubles this season move her into third with 39 only three behind Jessica Fiebelkorn for second.
* Junior Ashley Tarutis with 688 assists this season now has 3, 411 assists in her career, which is fourth on the Notre Dame assist list having just passed Taryn Collins for fourth place.
* Freshman Christina Kaelin with five 20+-kill matches this season is creeping up on the top-ten all-time at Notre Dame for 20+-kill matches in a career. Three former Notre Dame players (Christi Girton, Kathy Cunningham and Mary Kay Waller) hold the career mark of six 20+-kill matches.
* Senior Danielle Herndon is quickly moving up the Notre Dame digs list. She now has 1,157 career digs, which is good for sixth on the list. Herndon’s 22 times leading the team in digs this season is third for Notre Dame just passing Christy Peters (1993) and Meg Henican (2003) in a single season. Herndon’s 466 digs this year is fifth on Notre Dame’s list for a single season.
GETTING HER GROOVE BACK: Junior Ashley Tarutis has led the team in assists in 82 of the last 91 matches.
DOUBLING UP: Junior Adrianna Stasiuk has had a double-double in kills and digs in 15 of her 25 matches this season.
AN INTERESTING SITUATION: Notre Dame has switched up their two-setters junior Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas through much of the first 27 matches, where each one of them has led the team in assists in at least nine matches this season. Due in part to the two-setter approach no individual setter is ranked among the top-10 in the BIG EAST, but Notre Dame as a team is third (14.55) in the conference in assists.
SENDING THEM BACK: Sophomore Justine Stremick is sixth in the conference with her average of 1.40 blocks per game. Her 23 solo blocks are the second most in the BIG EAST.
A POINT SAVER: Senior Danielle Herndon is fourth in the conference in digs per game at 5.01. The Irish are second the conference in digs per game (17.52).
MAKING A TEAM IMPACT: As a team the Irish have climbed to second in the conference in kills per game at 15.78, despite not having any individual ranked among the top-10.
SHE STANDS ABOVE ALL: Justine Stremick is not only the tallest player on the team at 6’3″, she also has more blocks with 130 this season than her next two closest teammates (Mallorie Croal and Kim Kristoff) combined, who total 123 together.
A DIFFERENT SEASON: Since the beginning of conference play the Irish are second in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.266). Notre Dame is also third in service aces per game (1.76). During league play only, Notre Dame is also third in kills (16.27) and blocks per game (3.11)
WE’RE TURNING THE CORNER: Sophomore Justine Stremick is fourth in the league in hitting percentage during league matches (.390).
FOUR IS ABOUT RIGHT: Notre Dame is a solid 6-2 this season when playing four games; so losing a game somewhere in the first three has ultimately been a key ingredient to success.
THE FIRST DAY IS OUR BEST: Notre Dame is 5-2 this season on the first day of a road trip, having defeated Alabama, Butler, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Georgetown and fallen to then No. 16 Hawai’i and Cincinnati. Junior Adrianna Stasiuk and freshman Megan Fesl have led the charge. Stasiuk has averaged 3.00 kills per game and 3.42 digs per game in the first day of a road trip while Croal has tallied 57 kills.
FRIDAY IS OUR DAY: Notre Dame is now 7-0 on Friday match days. The Irish have defeated Valparaiso, Alabama, Butler, Marquette, DePaul, Connecticut and Georgetown. In those seven matches Notre Dame has 46 service aces (2.19 per game) to the oppositions 19. Freshman Christina Kaelin has enjoyed the Friday action as she is averaging 3.84 kills per game on Friday’s this season.
SHE DOESN’T MIND GETTING AWAY: In road games this season junior Adrianna Stasiuk is averaging 2.71 kills per game and 2.84 digs per game.
A SOLID RANKING: Notre Dame completed its 2006 home season ranking 14th nationally in attendance with an average of 1,849 fans per game and a total of 22,193 home fans saw the Irish play at the Joyce Center this season.
PACKING THEM IN: Aided by the football pep rally to follow, the attendance for Notre Dame’s match against Marquette on Oct. 6 was listed at 5,743. That crowd was to that point the 15th largest nationally and the second biggest crowd ever for a Notre Dame volleyball match at home. That number of fans is behind only the 8,643 fans that packed the Joyce Center for the Virginia Tech match on Nov. 7, 2003, which was also a pep rally match.
AN UNFORGETABLE MILESTONE: With the victory over Seton Hall on Sept. 30, head coach Debbie Brown has now won 500 career matches in her 22-year career. She becomes only the 28th NCAA volleyball coach to ever attain 500 or more victories in a career.
A MEDIA FRIENDLY TEAM: The Irish have now played seven matches on television this season. Notre Dame dropped its first television match to then No. 13 Missouri on Sept. 2 and also fell to Northern Iowa on Sept. 9. The Irish picked up a TV win against DePaul on Oct. 13 before falling twice to then No. 16 Hawai’i on Oct. 16 and 17. The Irish then fell to St. John’s in three games on Oct. 22. Notre Dame finished up their tough TV schedule with a three game loss at the hands of Louisville on Sunday, Oct. 29.
A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN: Sophomore Justine Stremick controlled the action around the net against Idaho in the Shamrock Invitational. She tallied 14 blocks, including 11 block assists against the Vandals. Her 14 blocks in the four-game match is tied with Mary Kay Waller for the third most blocks by an Irish blocker.
HONORS AND SELECTIONS: Junior outside hitter Adrianna Stasiuk and junior setter Ashley Tarutis were both chosen for the preseason All BIG-EAST squad.
Christina Kaelin was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Aug. 28 and Sept. 4.
Justine Stremick and Christina Kaelin were both named to the Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament Team on Sept. 2.
Danielle Herndon was a member of the UNI Invitational All-Tournament Team, Sept. 9.
Adrianna Stasiuk and Justine Stremick both took home some hardware from the Courtyard by Marriott Classic. Stasiuk was named the Co-Best Attacker of the Tournament while Stremick was named the Best Blocker.
Adrianna Stasiuk was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time in her career on Sept. 25.
Serinity Phillips was the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Oct. 9.
Mallorie Croal was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week on Nov. 6.
Adrianna Stasiuk and Justine Stremick were both named to ESPN The Magazine District 5 volleyball teams. Stasiuk was a first-team selection while Stremick was a third-team member.
SHE’S THE BOSS: Irish head coach Debbie Brown is now in her 16th season as the leader of the Notre Dame volleyball program. She has led the Irish to a 390-133 mark (.746), while holding an overall record of 507-216 (.701). Brown’s Notre Dame teams have earned 14 consecutive NCAA tournament bids, advancing to the quarterfinals in 1993 and the round of 16 in `94, `95, and `97. Her squads have won 20 or more matches 13 times. A 10-time conference coach of the year and the only five-time BIG EAST coach of the year (4 in the Midwestern Collegiate and one in the Pac-10), she has coached 12 Irish players to All-American honors. The Irish have also claimed 14 regular season conference titles (4 Midwestern Collegiate, 10 BIG EAST) and 13 league tournament titles (4 MCC, 9 BIG EAST) under her watch. A co-captain of the 1980 U.S Olympic volleyball team after winning a pair of national championships and earning All-American honors twice while playing at USC, Brown graduated from Arizona State in 1982 and coached her alma mater from 1983-88, helping the Sun Devils to five NCAA Tournaments.
A NEW MAN IN PLACE: The Fighting Irish in 2006 have a new assistant coach in place as Greg Smith, formerly the head man at Virginia Tech, has joined the Notre Dame volleyball family this season. Smith compiled a record of 81-94 (.463), including 37-38 (.493) in his five years in command of the Hokies. Smith replaces Robin Davis who took the head position at Boise State. Also joining the volleyball coaching staff, as volunteer assistant is Kevin Lane. Lane is an experienced coach on several levels having most recently spent time at Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, aiding the Mastodons to a runner-up finish at the National Independent University Tournament.
AN IMPRESSIVE STREAK: Notre Dame’s current 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is behind only seven other schools nationally (Stanford (25), Penn State (25), UC Santa Barbara (25), Nebraska (24), Long Beach State (19), USC (15) and Florida (15)) for consecutive appearances in the Big Dance.
HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame’s Joyce Center has become one of the most difficult places in the nation for road teams to win at, especially since the arrival of head coach Debbie Brown in 1991. Over the last 16 seasons, Notre Dame has posted a 188-33 record (.851) home record. The Irish have put together some impressive winning streaks on the home court, winning 14 or more matches in a row at home on five different occasions, highlighted by a streak of 27 (1993-95), and 36 (2000-02) straight home victories. Notre Dame also won 74 in a row in regular season action against conference opposition from 1991-2004. On 15 different occasions Notre Dame has topped a ranked team at the Joyce Center, including five upsets of teams ranked in the top-10. During the Brown era Notre Dame holds a home record of 179-12 (.937) against unranked teams at home.
CLASS OF THE CONFERENCE: Notre Dame has experienced unprecedented success in the 11 years since joining the league in 1995. The Irish have compiled a 130-11 (.922) regular season mark, highlighted by 10 titles and winning streaks of 45 and 35 consecutive matches. Notre Dame is 72-3 (.960) in BIG EAST regular-season contests in the Joyce Center. The Irish have won nine BIG EAST tournament championships, posting a mark of 22-2 (.917) in the event and reaching the final every season. The Fighting Irish have also dominated the conference awards; winning player-of the-year honors six times and coach-of-the-year five times. On nine occasions an Irish player has been named to the league tournament’s most outstanding player. Also, Notre Dame players have taken home 40 all-conference accolades, including 24 first team honors.
KEEPING UP WITH VOLLEYBALL: For the fastest results of Notre Dame volleyball matches call the Notre Dame sports hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #5 and #1. The hotline provides schedules and results information for all Irish varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the match recaps and weekly releases provided on the official athletic website at www.und.com. In addition, media members and fans can be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting sports information assistant Joe Prisco, at prisco.3@nd.edu. All requests for story ideas, interview access, match credentials and further information on Irish volleyball should also be directed to Prisco. Credential and interview requests should be made at least 24 hours in advance.
UP NEXT: The winner of the single elimination BIG EAST Championship will get the conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Championship starting on Nov. 30. Notre Dame regardless will wrap up the 2006 regular season with a match against Ohio on Friday, Nov. 25 in Louisville, Ky. at 5 p.m.