Jan. 6, 2004
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame volleyball team was ranked 24th in the final USA Today/AVCA Coaches Top 25, released recently. The Irish, who were unranked in the preseason but then listed in every subsequent poll in 2003, finished with a 23-7 record, highlighted by a share of an eighth BIG EAST regular-season title and a 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship.
Notre Dame has finished in the national top 25 eight times since 1992 and has been listed in the national rankings at some point in every season but one since then. This year’s ranking is the first season-end listing since the 2000 team was 21st.
The Irish were receiving votes in the preseason national rankings, but an upset of then-#10 Arizona in the season opener vaulted them into the poll at 21st. Notre Dame eventually rose to a season-high 12th on Nov. 3 and 10, marking its highest ranking since 1996.
Notre Dame opened the campaign 21-2, the second-best start in school history, putting together a 14-match winning streak — the second-longest ever for the program. The Irish won their first 11 matches in BIG EAST play for the eighth time since joining the league in 1995 before falling to Pittsburgh in the final conference match to share the regular-season crown with the Panthers. Pittsburgh then defeated the Irish in the final of the BIG EAST Championship, denying Notre Dame an eighth tournament title in nine seasons. The Irish lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament to #19 Louisville.
Notre Dame was the NCAA’s top blocking team, setting a school-record for the second consecutive season with an average of 3.72 per game. Sophomore MB Lauren Brewster (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood H.S.) was the individual national blocking champion, with 1.78 a game. Brewster, senior co-captain S Kristen Kinder (Fresno, Calif./Bullard H.S.), junior OPP/MB Emily Loomis (Fort Wayne, Ind./Bishop Luers H.S.), and sophomore MB/OH Lauren Kelbley (Bascom, Ohio/Hopewell-Loudon H.S.) were all honorable mention All-America after earning all-Northeast region honors. Notre Dame was one of just four teams nationally to have four players gain All-America mention.
A total of five Irish opponents from 2003 were in the final AVCA top 25: Pepperdine (6th), Stanford (10th), Northern Iowa (18th), Louisville (20th), and Utah (23rd). In addition, Pittsburgh and Arizona received votes, but were not ranked. USC was No. 1 in every set of rankings in ’03, finishing the season with a 35-0 record and its second consecutive national championship.
Notre Dame also finished 24th in the RichKern.com poll after being as high as 12th during the season. The Irish were the second team receiving votes in the Volleyball Magazine top 20 after peaking at 10th in that listing.
Five of Notre Dame’s six fall sports finished with a national ranking. In addition to the Irish volleyball team, Notre Dame was ranked in women’s cross country (4th), men’s soccer (8th), women’s soccer (9th), and men’s cross country (30th).