Oct. 13, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind.- The University of Notre Dame (12-5, 6-0 BIG EAST) used an efficient team effort to sweep DePaul (5-17, 0-6 BIG EAST) on Friday, Oct. 13 at the Joyce Center. The game scores went 30-22, 30-16, 30-10. The Irish have now won their last six matches and have swept six opponents this season.
The freshmen duo of outside hitter’s Christina Kaelin (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) and Serinity Phillips (Valley Center, Calif./Valley Center) led the attack with each picking up a match-high nine kills. Both also had outstanding hitting percentages. Phillips hit .429 (9-3-14) for the match, while Kaelin was even better as she hit .667 (9-1-12) in only two games. Kaelin’s 11 points were a match high and the seventh time she has been the team leader in kills. Fellow freshman Megan Fesl (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) had a good effort with seven kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Sophomore Justine Stremick (Langdon, N.D./Langdon Area) was the match leader with five blocks to go with seven kills. Junior Adrianna Stasiuk (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) had 11 digs to lead the squad. For the seventh time this season, freshman Jamel Nicholas (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) led the team with her 22 assists. Junior Ashley Tarutis (Long Beach, Ca./Los Alamitos) also reached double figures with 19 helpers. For the match, the Irish out hit the Blue Demons .327 to .057. The match was completed in an hour and 17 minutes.
In the first game, the Irish took control early as they jumped out to 8-5 lead on the kill from Stremick. The lead grew to five on a Fesl kill at 12-7. A kill from sophomore Mallorie Croal (Villa Park, Calif./Mater Dei) gave the Irish a seven-point advantage. The Irish lead went as high as seven, but DePaul inched to within five on the kill from Aly Zavitz at 27-22. The Irish ended the game on 3-0 run to win the first game 30-22.
The second game was all Notre Dame from the beginning. Kaelin spearheaded the game attack with seven kills, including two back-to-back kills to give the Irish an early 17-6 advantage. Phillips increased the Irish lead to 14 at 23-9 with another kill. A 4-0 spurt got the Blue Demons with in 11 at 25-14, before kills from Stremick and Kaelin allowed the Irish to finish off the game on 5-2 run for a 30-16 victory.
The third game began close, as DePaul was competing and attempted to avoid the sweep. A kill from Aly Zavitz kept DPU within one at 6-5. The Irish finally took control of the game on back-to-back kills from Kaelin. A kill from Croal allowed the Irish to open up a 10-point advantage at 19-9. Nicholas closed the game and match out for the Irish, as she served the final 10 points to give Notre Dame a 30-10 victory.
The Irish will now travel to Hawai’i to take on the Rainbow Wahine in two matches early next week. The Irish take on No. 11 Hawai’i (13-5, 7-0 WAC) on both Oct. 16 and 17. The match times are schedule for 7 p.m. (HT) and 6 p.m. (HT) locally, respectively.
Notes: Notre Dame for only the second time all season didn’t have a player reached double figures in kills (Santa Clara-9/3-Croal-8 kills) … Kaelin’s hitting percentage of .667 was the highest for an Irish player that averaged at least four attacks per game, since Stasiuk hit .733 against Rutgers (9/23) … DePaul’s hitting percentage of .057 was the lowest for an Irish opponent this season and the lowest since Cincinnati hit -.057 against Notre Dame in the 2005 BIG EAST semifinals … the 48 total points by DePaul was the lowest point total allowed by Notre Dame this season … this was only the third time this season that senior Danielle Herndon (Plant City, Fla./Durant) was not the team leader in digs.