Sept. 6, 2006
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THIS WEEK: The Notre Dame volleyball team (3-2) begins the road portion of the 2006 schedule with a trip to Cedar Falls, Iowa to participate in the UNI Invitational hosted by Northern Iowa. The Irish begin the weekend by taking on Alabama at 6 p.m. on Sept. 8. Notre Dame will have a pair of matches on Saturday, Sept. 9 as the Irish face off against Kansas State at 11 a.m. before taking on the host school Northern Iowa at 8:30 p.m. in the nightcap. Mediacom will broadcast the evening match on a tape delay basis. Mediacom is a local Iowa based cable television station.
THE RADIO PLANS: Both of Saturday’s opponents will be broadcast the matches. Saturday’s Notre Dame-Kansas State match will be broadcast on 1350-KMAN while the night match can be heard on through the Northern Iowa website, www.unipanthers.com from KWLO 1330-AM
REAL-TIME STATISTICS: All the matches of the UNI Invitational will be shown on the GameTracker link on the volleyball schedule on Northern Iowa’s website, www.unipanthers.com.
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.
* There is only one team at the UNI Invitational that Notre Dame volleyball has ever matched up with and that is Northern Iowa, who leads the all-time series between the two clubs 3-0.
* Freshman Christina Kaelin (KAY-lynn) was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week on Sept. 4. She is only Irish player to ever capture the award in consecutive weeks.
* Sophomore Justine Stremick and freshman Christina Kaelin were both named to the Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament team.
* Notre Dame went 2-1 in the Shamrock Invitational over the weekend of Sept 1-2, to place second to then No. 13 Missouri.
* Justine Stremick recorded 14 blocks against Idaho in a four-game set to tie for the third most blockers ever recorded by an Irish player in four games.
* Freshman Jamel Nicholas (juh-MEL) broke junior Ashley Tarutis (tuh-ROO-diss) streak of leading the team in assists against Valparaiso. The streak stood at 64 matches before Nicholas totaled a career-best 36 assists against Valpo.
* Five players reached double figures in kills against then No. 13 Missouri (Christina Kaelin, Mallorie Croal (KROLE), Justine Stremick, Adrianna Stasiuk (a-dree-ANN-uh stu-SHEWK) & Megan Fesl).
* Adrianna Stasiuk has recorded four double-doubles in the first five matches.
* Senior libero Danielle Herndon has led the team in digs in every match this season.
* The loss to then No. 13 Missouri and then No. 6 Santa Clara was the first time Notre Dame has lost consecutive matches since the start of the 2004 season.
* After a pair of losses to ranked teams, Notre Dame had a slight drop in the CSTV/AVCA poll from No. 21 to No. 23.
* 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 fifth in the conference in assists.
* Justine Stremick is second in the conference in blocks per game at 1.63.
* Danielle Herndon is third in the conference with a dig average of 5.47.
* Notre Dame opened the 2006 season on Saturday, August 26 with a 30-24, 30-28, 30-26 home victory over Bowling Green. Leading the Irish was freshman Christina Kaelin (24 kills, .465) and senior Danielle Herndon (17 digs), plus juniors Ashley Tarutis (27 assists, 2 service aces, 6 digs) and Adrianna Stasiuk (10 kills, 10 digs).
* The win was Notre Dame’s 16th consecutive to open a season.
* Freshman Christina Kaelin’s (KAY-lynn) 24 kills in her first match are tied for the second most kills ever recorded by a Notre Dame volleyball player in a three-game match.
* Kaelin for her efforts was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week for the week ending Aug. 27.
* Kaelin is the first Notre Dame BIG EAST Rookie of the Week since sophomore Mallorie Croal in Sept. 2005
* Junior outside hitter Adrianna Stasiuk has always played well against Valparaiso with a kills average of 3.58 and a hitting percentage of .294.
* Following the Bowling Green match, junior setter Ashley Tarutis had led the team in assists 64 times in her career, or every match she had played in.
* With senior Danielle Herndon leading the team in digs against Bowling Green with 17, it was only the 13th time over the last two years that someone other than former libero Meg Heican was the digs leader.
* Before the three-game loss to then No. 6 Santa Clara, the Fighting Irish had not been swept in a regular season non-conference match since the 2004 season against then #2 Nebraska.
* Notre Dame has high hopes for the upcoming 2006 campaign as the squad returns three starters and eight monogram winners.
* Last season ND went 30-4, including a mark of 13-1 in BIG EAST play, which tied them for conference regular season title.
* Notre Dame won all three games at the BIG EAST Championship in Louisville, Ky. to take the championship title and the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time. . * Notre Dame after defeating Dayton and Northwestern in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, advanced to the round of 16 before falling to Wisconsin in five games all four defeats for Notre Dame during the 2005 season were the five-game variety.
* The 2006 Fighting Irish were chosen as the favorites in the BIG EAST Conference for 11th time in 12 seasons
* ND has not dropped an opening day match since before the Debbie Brown era in 1990.
* The Irish will be led by their co-captains senior Danielle Herndon and junior Adrianna Stasiuk. . * Also returning is junior setter Ashley Tarutis, who set a new school record with 1,573 assists last season.
* 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.
* The Fighting Irish enter the AVCA’s preseason poll at #21, which is the highest preseason ranking for the squad since 2001 when the team was ranked 20th.
* ND will take on nine teams in 10 matches this season that were participants in the 2005 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
* For the fourth consecutive season Notre Dame had a CSTV television match, this time against #13 Missouri on Sept. 2.
* ND has four matches on home football weekends this season.
* Danielle Herndon is the lone senior on the team, the first time since 1983 that the Notre Dame roster will only have one senior.
* Over the last 16 years Notre Dame is an impressive 184-31 (.856) at the Joyce Center.
* The Fighting Irish have compiled an overall record of 120-7 (.945) including a record of 67-1 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 ALABAMA: The Crimson Tide (4-2) after opening the season with a loss rolled off a four match winning streak, including two at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash, before dropping the championship game to Wisconsin-Milwaukee … the Tide are led by a pair of juniors, Crystal Hudson and Bridget Fuentez … both Fuentez and Hudson have played in all 21 matches … Hudson is the team leader with 86 kills, an average of 4.10 kills-per-game, a hitting percentage of .368 and 22 blocks … Fuentez has also began the season well with 82 kills and 52 digs … freshman Jennifer Weber has began her college career by tallying 13 service aces in the first 21 games … junior Brigitte Slack has racked up 255 assists and 18 blocks this season … much of the Alabama roster (7) is composed of players with Midwest ties including two players from the state of Indiana … senior Abbi Blackburn is from New Castle and attended Chrysler while Brigitte Slack comes from Ft. Wayne and went to high school at Concordia Lutheran …three of the four Alabama wins this season have come in three games .. the head coach for the Crimson Tide is Judy Green, who is in her 11th year at the helm and has compiled a record of 170-152 including a run into the NCAA Tournament last season … overall Green is 566-226 in her 20 years as a head coach.
SERIES VS. ALABAMA: This will be the first-ever meeting between Notre Dame and Alabama in volleyball … Alabama is one of two first-time opponents on the schedule this year … Notre Dame has won five of the last six matches against first time opponents, first beating the College of Charleston, Fresno State and Sacramento State in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, UC Irvine in the 2004 regular season, South Florida in 2005 before falling to Tennessee last season … ND is 15-24 all-time against teams from the Southeastern Conference … current Irish head mentor Debbie Brown is 15-14 in her career against the SEC … the two school have matched up 23 times in previous sports with the Irish holding a slight 12-11 edge … No Irish player has ever come from the state of Alabama.
SCOUTING KANSAS STATE: Kansas State (5-1) has began the season well with road wins over Fresno State and Pacific and home wins over Lipscomb, Wichita State and Montana State … The lone loss for the Wildcats with to then No. 6 Santa Clara in three games … The Broncos also defeated Notre Dame as well … three of the Wildcats five wins have been in three games … the Wildcats have one more match against Drake at home before heading to Iowa for the tournament … KSU won Varney’s Kansas State Invitational over the weekend … senior Sandy Werner captured MVP honors in the tournament and is the team leader with 83 kills and 94.5 points this season … the middle blockers Tiffany Johnson and Megan Kroeker have played well this season … Johnson has 56 kills on a .356 hitting percentage with 22 total blocks … Kroeker paces the Wildcats in hitting percentage (.390), total blocks (25) and blocks per game (1.47) … in her fifth year patrolling the sideline for Kansas State is Suzie Fritz, who has a record of 112-44 … the Wildcats have played in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last 10 years.
SERIES VS. KANSAS STATE: This will be the first meeting between Notre Dame and Kansas State in women’s volleyball … Kansas State is one of two first time opponents on the schedule this year (Alabama the previous match is the other) … Notre Dame has won five of the last six matches against first-time opponents – first beating the College of Charleston, Fresno State and Sacramento State in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, UC Irvine in the 2004 regular season, South Florida in 2005 before falling to Tennessee last season … Mary Kay Waller (Lawrence, Lawrence), who is second in career blocks (699), is the only Kansas native to suit up for the Notre Dame … ND and KSU have met 15 times previously in other sports, with the Irish leading 12-3 … eight of those games were in women’s tennis (ND leads 8-0) … current Notre Dame assistant SID/volleyball radio announcer Chris Master received his master’s degree and worked for Kansas State for two years.
SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA: The Panther (5-3) have already played eight matches this season … after a very up and down early season, UNI has won three of its last four matches including two wins over Southeast Conference opponents (Mississippi State and Georgia) … the Panthers advanced to the championship of the Regency Suites Midtown Invitational only to fall in five games to Georgia Tech … junior Lauren Rowen leads the team in kills with 119 and is second on the squad with 89 digs … Danielle Brazda is one of two players average better than a block a game (1.57) … the other key blocker has been Trista Humphal, who has 41 blocks this season … junior setter Kristin Belzung is averaging 11.70 assists per game … three of the five Panther wins have come in three-game sets … this match will be broadcast on tape-delay on the Iowa television station Mediacom … Northern Iowa head coach Bobbi Petersen … Petersen is one of the all-time great volleyball players ever for Northern Iowa and has compiled a 158-45 record as head coach in this her seventh season … the Panthers are 177-10 (.947) since 1990 in the West Gym.
SERIES VS. NORTHERN IOWA: ND and UNI will meet for the fourth time overall and third time in the last four years … Northern Iowa leads the series 3-0 … UNI won 28-30, 30-28, 31-29, 22-30, 13-15 in the Joyce Center in ’04 … the last match was the only one in which both team did not come in ranked … in the last match the two teams played a combination 256 points (tied for the third most combined points in a match ever at Notre Dame) were scored … two Iowa natives have played for the Irish starting with Rachel Hall (Neola, Tri-Center) from 1997-1988 … the other Iowa native was Julie McElroy (Ames, Ames, Cyclone Cylect) in ’04 … ND last squared off against a Missouri Valley Conference school last year in a 3-1 win over Illinois State … against the MVC, ND volleyball sports a record of 28-13, while coach Debbie Brown is an impressive 19-7.
THE WISE ONES: With two teams on this weekend schedule that the Irish have never squared off against, only four players have had any playing time at all against any of the three teams n the UNI Invitational. Junior Adrianna Stasiuk had the most success with her kill average of 3.00 against Northern Iowa in five games played against Northern Iowa in 2004, but senior Danielle Herndon has had the most experience with two matches played and nine games under her belt.
A MEDIA FRIENDLY TEAM: For the second time this season, Notre Dame volleyball will be making a television appearance. The Irish-North Iowa match on Saturday night will be taped delayed and shown on Mediacom, a local cable station in Iowa. The first was the CSTV match against then #13 Missouri.
A TREND WE CAN ALL GET BEHIND: For the second time in as many weeks, freshman Christina Kaelin was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week. Kaelin became the first Irish volleyball player to capture the award in consecutive weeks. She also ties junior Adrianna Stasiuk and former Notre Dame volleyball players Lauren Kelbley and Mary Leffers, as the only Irish players to capture the award twice in a season.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM SELECTIONS: Sophomore Justine Stremick and freshman Christina Kaelin were both named to the Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament Team. Stremick averaged totaled 32 kills and 25 blocks in the tournament, while Kaelin totaled 57 kills, for an average of 4.38 kills-per-game, while also digging 12 balls and blocking five attempts.
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 ND blocker.
SOMETHING DIFFERENT: Freshman Jamel Nicholas, with a career-best 36 assists against Valparaiso, broke the 64 consecutive matches that junior Ashley Tarutis led the team in assists. Nicholas continued the trend by leading the team in assists all four matches the weekend on Sept 1-3.
HI-FIVE: Notre Dame for the first tine since the BIG EAST final against Louisville had five players in double figures in kills against #13 Missouri. The players and the number of kills they had in order were: Christina Kaelin (24), Mallorie Croal (14), Justine Stremick (14), Adrianna Stasiuk (13) & Megan Fesl (FEH-sul) (11).
DOUBLING UP: Junior Adrianna Stasiuk has reached double figures in kills and digs in four of the first five matches this season the only time she hasn’t was against No. Santa Clara.
TAKING CONTROL: Senior libero Danielle Herndon has led the squad in assists in every match this season including setting her career-high with 29 against No. 13 Missouri.
UNFAMILAR GROUND: Previous to the three-game loss to Santa Clara, Notre Dame had only been defeated five times over the last two seasons and all had come in a five-game set. The last time Notre Dame lost a non-conference match-up at the Joyce Center in less than five-games with a three gamer to then No. 2 Nebraska in 2004. Prior to the Missouri loss, the Irish hadn’t been defeated at the Joyce Center since dropping a conference match-up to then BIG EAST member Boston College in 2004. The last time that Notre Dame volleyball, previous to the two-match losing streak they are currently on, lost two matches in a row also came during the 2004 season coming at the hands of South Carolina and Michigan.
A SLIGHT DROP: Notre Dame’s volleyball team after two losses both to rank team, Sept 2-3, dropped slightly in the latest CSTV/AVCA rankings. The Irish went from #21 to #23.
AN INTERESTING SITUATION: Notre Dame has switch up their two setters junior Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas through the first five games, where each one of them has led the team in assists in at least one match 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 fifth in the conference in assists.
SENDING THEM BACK: Sophomore Justine Stremick is second in the conference with her average of 1.63 blocks per game.
A POINT SAVER: Senior Danielle Herndon is third in the conference in digs per game at 5.47. Herndon and the Irish are fourth in the conference in digs per game (17.58).
A NICE START TO A CAREER: Freshman Christina Kaelin had a tremendous start to her freshman season as she led the team in kills with 24. Her 24 kills are tied for the second most assists ever recorded in a three game match behind only the 25 recorded by Angie Harris on Sept. 15, 1995. The Assumption High School graduate was the first Notre Dame volleyball player to register at least in 20 kills in a match since another Louisville native Ellen Heintzman recorded 22 kills in a five-game set against Tennessee on Nov. 26, 2005.
KAELIN NAMED BIG EAST ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Christina Kaelin after her fantastic performance of 24 kills in 43 attempts with only four errors against Bowling Green was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Aug. 28. Her hitting percentage of .465 is the highest a Fighting Irish volleyball player had registered that had at least 20 kills since Lauren Kelbley hit .688 with 24 kills against Loyola-Chicago last season. Kaelin’s BIG EAST award was the first Rookie of the Week honor; the Fighting Irish have won since Mallorie Croal took home the honors on Sept. 5 of last season.
NOTRE DAME IN SEASON OPENERS: With a three game sweep of Bowling Green this season, Notre Dame has won its lidlifter for 16 consecutive season, every year since head coach Debbie Brown arrived on campus. The last time the Irish started the season 0-1 was in 1990, when they lost in four games to Montana in the Washington State Invitational.
A NEW TREND: When senior Danielle Herndon led the team with 17 digs against Bowling Green, it was only the 13th time over the last two seasons that someone other than former libero Meg Henican led the team in that category. Two other current members (Adrianna Stasiuk and Mallorie Croal) of the roster were among the 13 times. For Herndon it was the third time in her career that she was the team leader in digs.
A HARD TEAM TO DEFEAT: The only time Notre Dame has been defeated in less than five games in a non-NCAA Tournament/non-conference match over the last three years previous to the loss to Santa Clara was a three-game loss to then #2 Nebraska in 2004. That stretch covered 59 matches and 217 games.
NEW LEADERS: With the graduation of both captains from last season, the Notre Dame volleyball team has chosen two new leaders for this season. The new captains are senior Danielle Herndon and junior Adrianna Stasiuk.
WHO’S BACK? The Notre Dame volleyball team returns three starter and eight monogram winners from last year’s squad. Among the returnees, besides Herndon and Stasiuk, is all-time single season assist record holder (1,573) junior setter Ashley Tarutis. Also returning is junior outside hitter Ellen Heintzman (HIGHNTZ-min), and sophomores Madison Clark, Mallorie Croal, Annie Morkis (MOH-kris) and Justine Stremick (STREM-ick).
NEW FACES: The Notre Dame volleyball team has reloaded with seven highly touted freshman vying for playing time this season. The freshmen this year are Tara Enzweiler, Megan Fesl, Christina Kaelin, Kim Kristoff (pronounced CHRIS-toff), Jamel Nicholas, Colleen Nolan and Serinity Phillips (suh-REN-ih-tee).
IRISH ARE THE BIG EAST FAVORITE: For the 11th time in 12 seasons as a member of the BIG EAST, Notre Dame volleyball program was chosen as the preseason favorite in the BIG EAST Conference. The only season Notre Dame was not chosen as the favorite since entering the league was last season’s second place prediction.
HONORS AND SELECTIONS: Junior outside hitter Adrianna Stasiuk and junior setter Ashley Tarutis were both chosen for the preseason All BIG-EAST squad.
A NICE BEGINNING PRESEASON: The Fighting Irish enter the season ranked 21st in the CSTV/AVCA Preseason Poll. This is the highest preseason rank for ND since 2001 when they began the season 20th.
THAT’S A CHALLENGING SCHEDULE: Notre Dame has once again lined up one of the more challenging schedules in the country. Notre Dame will take on nine teams in 10 matches that were in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. The teams and round they were eliminated in goes as follows: Valparaiso (first round), Missouri (final eight), Santa Clara (semifinals), Alabama (first round), Kansas State (second round), Duke (second round), and Hawai’i (round of 16), Louisville (round of 16) and Ohio (round of 16).
IT JUST GETS TOUGHER: A closer look at the Notre Dame volleyball schedule reveals that out of 51 teams that are in the AVCA Preseason top-25 or received votes to be in the AVCA Preseason top-25, the Fighting Irish are schedule to play 10 matches against those nine teams. The ranked ND opponents in order of prediction are Santa Clara (#6), Hawai’i (#7), Louisville (#12), Missouri (#13), Ohio (#16), Kansas State (#25), Duke (received votes), Northern Iowa (received votes) and Cincinnati (received votes).
IN LIVING ROOMS EVERYWHERE: For the fourth time in as many season the Notre Dame volleyball team had a game shown on College Sports Television. The Fighting Irish had a match against #13 Missouri on Sept. 2 at the Shamrock Invitational at 7 p.m. taped delayed and shown by CSTV on Sept. 3 at 2 p.m. ND is one of only eight schools that has been part of the CSTV volleyball package every season since its inception. The others are (shown with ’06 preseason national rankings) #1 Nebraska, #4 Stanford, #6 Santa Clara, #8 Texas, #19 Pepperdine, #24 Utah and Colorado State. The BIG EAST Champion game to be held on Nov. 19 at 4:00 p.m., which Notre Dame has played in for 11 consecutive seasons, will also be shown on CSTV this season.
HOME FOOTBALL WEEKENDS: For the sixth time in seven years, the Notre Dame volleyball team is scheduled to play matches this season that will precede football pep rallies. The start of the home BIG EAST play against Marquette on Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. will be the first of the two pre-pep rally matches for Notre Dame. Also on the schedule this season, the Connecticut match on Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. will take place before the pep rally for the UCLA game. Football-weekend guests will have the two other opportunities to see the Irish, all against BIG EAST competition. The day after the Stanford football game (Sunday, Oct. 8) Notre Dame will host Syracuse at 1 p.m., while Sunday, Oct. 22 will see the Fighting Irish hosting St. John’s at 2 p.m.
ALL BY HERSELF: Senior Danielle Herndon is the lone senior on the 15-person team this season, which is the first time since 1983 (Terese Henken) that the Irish have only had one senior on the team.
AN EXCEPTIONAL CLASS: The seven student-athletes who comprise the freshman class for the University of Notre Dame women’s volleyball team this season – MB Tara Enzweiler, OH/OPP Megan Fesl, OH Christina Kaelin, MB Kim Kristoff, S Jamel Nicholas, DS/L Colleen Nolan, and OH/OPP Serinity Phillips – earned high praise before even stepping on campus, as two publications ranked the group among the five best in the country. Volleyball magazine had Notre Dame third on its list of top recruiting classes appearing in the August issue, while PrepVolleyball.com placed the Irish fifth on a similar list. These cap off the accolades received by the group, which features four PrepVolleyball.com high school All-Americans, three Volleyball magazine Fab 50 selections, and two Gatorade State Players of the Year for volleyball.
Fesl, Kaelin, and Kristoff were on Volleyball’s Girls Fab 50 list of the top high school seniors in the nation, announced in April. It is the first time since 1997 (Denise Boylan, Christi Girton, and Jo Jameyson) – and just the third time ever – that Notre Dame has had three Fab 50 picks in the same class. The other instance was the 1994 group of Angie Harris, Jaimie Lee, and Carey May. The Irish are one of only five schools that have three or more on the Fab 50 list, joining Penn State (four), Pepperdine (three), Texas A&M (three), and Wisconsin (three). Notre Dame has now had 23 players earn Fab 50 designation since 1990, including at least one in 11 of the last 13 years.
AN INTELLIGENT BUNCH: The Notre Dame volleyball team posted one of its highest grade-point averages on record for the academic year in 2005-2006 and was recognized as a recipient of the Game/Plan American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award. The Irish, who had a spring team GPA of 3.380, were one of just 54 Division I Programs on the list and one of a group of 12 that also made the 2005 NCAA Tournament. The AVCA Team Academic Award honors college and high-school teams that display excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale. The Irish were previously honored with the award in 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2004-05.
SHE’S THE BOSS: Irish head coach Debbie Brown is beginning her 16th season as the leader of the Notre Dame volleyball program. She has led the Irish to a 374-122 mark (.754), while holding an overall record of 491-205 (.705). 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.
Browns Extension: Debbie Brown – a 10-time conference coach of the year and finalist for national coach of the year in 2005 – has signed a multi-year contract extension to remain the head coach of the University of Notre Dame’s women’s volleyball program, it was announced July 17 by director of athletics Kevin White. After leading the Irish to one of their best seasons ever in 2005, Brown is in her 16th year at the helm. Last season, Brown’s squad peaked at fifth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll before posting its first 30-win season since 1994 (all four defeats came in five-game matches). The Irish went 5-1 against top-15 teams, earned an all-time high seeding of No. 6 in their 14th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship (ND is one of only eight schools with such a streak). Notre Dame played host to the first two rounds and advanced to the round of 16 for the first time since 1997 before falling in five games. The Irish – which had a 15-match winning streak and spent a program-record 10 weeks in the AVCA top 10 – went 13-1 to win their 10th BIG EAST Conference regular-season championship (in 11 years of league membership) and then won in five games at Louisville in a battle of top-10 teams to claim ND’s ninth conference tournament title. The squad also featured the first player in program history – 2006 graduate Lauren Brewster – to be both an athletic and Academic All-American. For her efforts, Brown became the first five-time BIG EAST volleyball coach of the year and was named the top coach in the AVCA’s Northeast Region, making her one of the finalists for the national award.
Her tenure as the Irish head coach has seen Notre Dame compile a 377-124 (.752) record, and she has a 491-205 (.705) mark as a head coach. Brown’s Notre Dame squads have finished in the AVCA top 25 on nine occasions and reached the final 16 in the NCAAs six times – including a quarterfinal run in 1993. The Brown era has seen 15 consecutive winning seasons, with all but one featuring 20+ victories. Her teams have been outstanding against conference opposition, winning 14 regular-season titles and 13 league tournaments, while compiling a staggering 147-7 (.955) regular-season record against conference rivals (83-1 at home). Brown’s squads have been outstanding at home, accruing a 184-31 (.856) record, including five winning streaks of 14 or more matches. Individually, her Irish players have earned All-America accolades 14 times and have combined for 54 all-conference honors (nearly four per season), including 33 on the first team.
A NEW MAN IN PLACE: The Fighting Irish in 2006 will 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 183-31 record (.855) 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 174-10 (.946) 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 120-7 (.945) regular season mark, highlighted by 10 titles and winning streaks of 45 and 35 consecutive matches. Notre Dame is 67-1 (.985) 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: Another weekend brings with it the challenge of another tournament, this time the Fighting Irish will travel to Tempe, Arizona to participate in the Sun Devil Volleyball Classic from Sept. 15-17. The Irish will begin play on Friday, Sept. 15 against Butler at 5 p.m. (MST/PDT). Notre Dame will have a tough match on Saturday, Sept. 16 against Duke at 5 p.m. (MST/PST). The weekend will wrap up with a Sunday matinee, Sept. 17 match-up against host school Arizona State at 2 p.m. (MST/PST).