Sept. 20, 2007
Game Notes
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The Notre Dame volleyball team begins the BIG EAST Conference portion of its schedule Saturday at Pittsburgh in a match that will be televised nationally on College Sports Television (CSTV) at 2 p.m. (ET). The Irish are receiving votes in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll for the fourth-straight week, and are fresh off a win over then-22nd ranked Santa Clara in the Bronco Invitational.
Panther sophomores Meagan Dooley and Michelle Rossi earned all-tournament honors at the San Diego Invitational last week as Pitt swept Cal State Northridge in the tournament’s final match. Dooley posted a .307 hitting percentage with 34 kills and 13 blocks. Rossi paced the Panthers (6-7) in digs with 61 throughout the tournament.
The Mountaineers, now 8-4 on the season, went 2-1 at the Coal Blue/Green Classic last weekend in Charleston, W.Va. West Virginia fell to host Marshall (3-1) and Pepperdine (3-1) but managed to take down Akron, 3-2. Freshman libero Bonnie West was recognized on the all-tournament team after scooping a career-high 32 digs against the Zips.
WVU head coach Veronica Hammersmith is the fifth skipper with over 500 career wins the Irish have faced this season. Mike Hebert (Minnesota), Kathy Gregory (UC Santa Barbara), Mary Wise (Florida), and Judy Green (Alabama) were the previous four.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(4-6 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Pittsburgh Panthers
(6-7 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2007 • 2:00 p.m. (ET)
Fitzgerald Fieldhouse • Pittsburgh, Pa.
Series vs. Pittsburgh: Notre Dame leads 18-7
Series Streak: Pittsburgh – won 2
Last Meeting: Nov. 11, 2006 – Pittsburgh, 3-1
Live Stats: PittsburghPanthers.com
TV: College Sports Television (CSTV)
West Virginia Mountaineers
(8-4 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST)
Saturday, Sept. 23, 2007 • 2:00 p.m. (ET)
WVU Coliseum • Morgantown, W.Va.
Series vs. West Virginia: Notre Dame leads 12-2
Series Streak: Notre Dame – won 8
Last Meeting: Nov. 12, 2006 – Notre Dame, 3-0
Live Stats: msnsportsnet.com
Last Time Out … Sophomore Serinity Phillips matched a personal-best 18 kills – including nine in a decisive game four win – as Notre Dame slipped by No. 22 Santa Clara last Sunday … the Irish took the match’s first game, then dropped the next two before mounting a comeback to win the last pair and wrap up the 3-2 (30-19, 15-30, 28-30, 31-19, 15-11) win in its final match of the Bronco Invitational at the Leavey Center … “we showed a tremendous amount of heart today,” said Irish head coach Debbie Brown … “it really was a total team effort … we played a lot of different people and went with several different lineups … everyone was called upon to step their game up, and they did so at different points throughout the match” … the victory was the third for the Irish (4-6) on the season in five-match affairs, winning its first two before a 3-2 loss to No. 11 California just one day prior … it was also the team’s first win over a ranked opponent in five tries … Notre Dame recorded its highest hitting percentage (.272) of the year in part to a career-day by freshman Kellie Sciacca and her 16 kills on a .625 clip … senior Adrianna Stasiuk earned a spot on the all-tournament team after recording her third double-double of the invite with 13 kills and 12 digs against the Broncos … Krista Kelley logged a match-high 25 kills for host Santa Clara (7-6) … coming out of intermission, Notre Dame led by seven (12-5) but slowly started to give away its lead as Santa Clara eventually tied game three at 27-27 … Kelley fired in a pair of kills to close the period and give the Broncos a 2-1 edge … with its back against the ropes the Irish hit .395 and .526 in the next two games, respectively, as the offense came around to control the remainder of the match … game four went back and forth as the squads traded leads four times and managed to tie the frame on 10 occasions, with the last coming at 28-28 before Santa Clara broke the ice and faced game point at 29-28 … Stasiuk stepped up with a kill to tie it at 29-29 and consecutive Santa Clara attack errors gave ND the win … both teams had 10 kills in the final game but the Irish did so on 19 attempts without an error … Notre Dame got kills from senior Ashley Tarutis, Phillips, and Sciacca during a 7-3 run to crack loose from a 8-8 tie … “this tournament was a good experience for us,” added Brown … “we were pushed in every match that we played, and each one made us a better team … after starting out 0-2, you need to have strong character and a strong will to come out and get it done, and that’s what we were able to do.”
History 101 …After coasting to a game one victory, the Irish dropped the next three to fall to Pittsburgh when the two squads met last season (Nov. 11) … it was the second time in 2006 that Notre Dame had won the first game in a losing effort … Adrianna Stasiuk put in a great all-around effort with 14 kills, 17 digs and two blocks … setter Ashley Tarutis led the team with a season-best 46 assists … for the match, the Irish out-hit Pittsburgh, .158 to .148, but struggled from the line with eight service errors … the Panthers have won four of the last six meetings after the Irish rattled off 15-straight wins from 1992-2002 … ND and Pitt will meet for the 16th consecutive season and 26th time overall … the 16-year streak of at least one contest against the Panthers is ND’s longest versus any current foe … the schools first met in 1984 in Pittsburgh, with the Panthers winning 3-0 … the Irish eliminated Pitt from the 1994 NCAA Tournament’s second round with a four-game win in the Joyce Center … the BIG EAST era has seen the Irish win 14 of 18 matches, with the teams playing in the league tournament on six occasions … ND leads in games won, 59-36 … in 1996, Notre Dame’s Denise Boylan tallied 86 assists at Pittsburgh, which is the second-highest assist total ever recorded by an Irish player … Notre Dame has not dropped a match to WVU since a 3-0 loss in 1998 … the Irish coasted to a 3-0 win over the Mountaineers during the 2006 campaign, 30-19, 30-21, 30-17 … Mallorie Croal had a match-high 13 kills with a .429 hitting percentage, six assists and 17 digs … senior Danielle Herndon made her final regular season showing at the Joyce Center and added 17 digs … the Irish out-hit West Virginia .308 to .062, marking the fifth time the Irish held an opponent to under a .100 hitting percentage in 2006 … WVU won the first-ever meeting between the two teams, earning a 3-2 edge in the 1991 National Invitation Volleyball Championship postseason tournament in Fairborn, Ohio … during that contest, Notre Dame’s Jessica Fiebelkorn posted the highest hitting percentage ever for an Irish player in a five-game match, with 13 kills and only two errors on 20 swings for a .550 mark … the Irish and the Mountaineers will meet for the 14th consecutive season and 15th time overall … Notre Dame has won 12 of the previous 14 contests, including the last eight … the teams played twice before the Irish joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1995 … the Irish gained their first win over the Mountaineers in 1994 in the Joyce Center in four games … after winning the next three in straight games, Notre Dame lost in Morgantown in 1998, which marked just the second loss to a conference team in 50 matches since becoming a BIG EAST member … the Irish lead 38-9 in games won … in 1994 match with WVU, the Irish set a Joyce Center record with 15 service aces, including six by Angie Harris, which is tied for the third-highest total in school history.
Rolling In the Conference Honors … Middle blocker Kellie Sciacca was voted the league’s Freshman of the Week (Sept. 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 … that clip was also a school record for a five-game match … she finished the three-match invite with 37 kills and a .361 mark over 14 games … Sciacca is currently second among Irish players with 1.14 blocks/game and first in hitting percentage (.305).
Brown to Win … Irish head coach 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 earned more wins in as many seasons as Brown … she is four wins shy of No. 400 as Notre Dame’s head skipper.
Drop It Like It’s Hot … 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.
Meet Me At the Net … Notre Dame currently sits third among BIG EAST teams in blocks with 3.05/game … South Florida paces all members with 3.33/game … UofL’s Lecia Brown tops league individuals with 1.74/game … the Irish have two players among the top-10: Justine Stremick (4th – 1.31/game), and Kellie Sciacca (9th – 1.14/game) … Stremick ranks 67th nationally in blocks/game, and the Irish are 22nd in the team category.
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 contest … the consecutive tilts 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).
Digging Upward … With 12 digs against Florida, Adrianna Stasiuk took sole possession of third place on the school’s career list of matches with 10+ digs … Stasiuk was able to snatch 21 digs against Missouri (Sept. 2), which moved her ahead of Jamie Lee and into sixth-place for career digs … the senior’s streak of six-straight double-doubles is tied for third in a single-season.
Hello, Again … 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, recorded a kill and two digs … she put together a band of seven consecutive double-doubles to end the 2006 season, which is 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 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 on six shots … the 21.0 blocks signified 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.
(Taru)Tis Better To Give … Ashley 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 407 helpers (9.69/game) … she now has 3990 assists in her career after notching 27 against Santa Clara … in front of Tarutis is Denise Boylan and her total of 4687.
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 had 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 at he time … 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 was 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.
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).
They’re Grrreat!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 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), Megan Fesl (14), Adrianna Stasiuk (10), and Justine Stremick (13).
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.
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 (392 of 392) 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 nine 10+ digs efforts in 2007.
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–