Nov. 11, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind.- Serinity Phillips (Valley Center, Calif./Valley Center) led the attack with 15 kills, but it was not enough as Notre Dame’s volleyball (15-11, 9-4 BIG EAST) after coasting to a game one victory, dropped the next three to Pittsburgh (21-8, 9-4 BIG EAST) to fall behind the Panthers in the all important seeding for the upcoming BIG EAST Volleyball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at the Joyce Center. The game scores went 30-10, 25-30, 24-30, 31-33.
Phillips had a steady performance with 15 kills, a .265 hitting percentage, two assists, four digs and four blocks. Junior Adrianna Stasiuk (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) put in a great all-around effort with 14 kills, 17 digs and two blocks. Sophomore Mallorie Croal (Villa Park, Calif./Mater Dei) also put in solid days work with 13 kills and 17 digs. The Irish junior setter Ashley Tarutis (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos) led the team with season best 46 assists. Danielle Herndon (Plant City, Fla./Durant) added 17 digs. For the match, the Irish out hit Pittsburgh .158 to .148 but struggled from the line with eight service errors.
The Irish took control of game one early and never looked back, jumping out to a 13-3 lead on the kill from Phillips. A kill from sophomore Justine Stremick (Langdon, N.D./Langdon) increased the lead to 13 at 20-7. The Irish closed the game on a 10-3 run to take the first game in commanding 30-10 fashion. For the game Notre Dame out hit the Panthers .312 to -.200.
The second game is when things began to unravel for Notre Dame. An early Herndon service ace tied the match up at seven. The two teams stayed within a point of each other all the way into the early twenties, when Pittsburgh opened up a two-point advantage on an Irish attacking error at 22-20. The Panthers, now playing with a sense of confidence, finished the second game on a 8-5 run to take game two 30-25.
The third game started as another back and forth contest until Pitt took a 10-9 lead on a kill from Stephanie Ross. Ross would have a great match as she ended up with a match-best 24 kills. The Pittsburgh lead quickly grew to eight on five Irish attack errors on seven possessions at 17-9. Pittsburgh would open up a lead as large as 10 before Notre Dame rallied to get within six on a Tara Enzweiler (Raleigh, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) kill at 25-19, but it was not enough as Pitt rolled to a 30-24 game three win.
A Phillips kill tied the fourth game up at nine all, as Notre Dame was now fighting to get to a fifth game. Back-to-back Panthers attacking errors gave Notre Dame as brief two point advantage at 11-9, only to see Pittsburgh rally and go on a 7-2 run keyed by back-to-back blocks. The Irish now trailing 16-13, rallied to tie the game up at 17 all on a kill from freshman Christina Kaelin (Louisville, Ky./Assumption). Another Kaelin kill gave Notre Dame another two-point lead at 19-17. The Irish lead increased to three on a Pittsburgh service error. The Panthers clawed their way back and tied the match up at 26 all. The Panthers kept coming and took a two-point lead on a kill from Jessica Moses. Notre Dame rallied and tied the game up at 28. Another Ross kill gave Pittsburgh the 29-28 lead and forced the first match point. Croal knocked down a huge kill to tie the game up at 29 all. Another Ross kill forced the second match point of the afternoon, only to see the Irish fight to tie the game up at 30 all. An Irish service error again gave Pittsburgh the lead again at 31-30, forcing the third match point of the day. Again Notre Dame rallied and tied it up on a kill from Phillips. A kill from Diana Andreyko forced the fourth and final match point of the game. This time the Panthers were able to finish, and after a long rally resulted in an Irish error, took the fourth game 33-31.
Next, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will host West Virginia (2-27, 1-11 BIG EAST) in the final home regular season match of the season. It will also be the last home regular season match for senior Danielle Herndon.
Notes: This was only the second time this season that Notre Dame has won the first game in loss … Notre Dame is now 6-2 in four game matches this season … Mallorie Croal’s double-double was her third of the season.