Notre Dame Volleyball To Travel To Madison For NCAA Tournament This Weekend

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Nov. 29, 2006

THIS WEEK: The Irish (18-13, 10-4 BIG EAST) earned the team’s 15th consecutive bid into the NCAA Volleyball Tournament and will take on No. 10 Wisconsin (24-6) on December 1 at 7 p.m. (CST) in Madison. The winner will advance to the second round and take on the winner of the Iowa State (20-10)/Wisconsin-Milwaukee (24-5) match on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. (CST)

FREE LIVE STATS: www.ncaasports.com/volleyball/womens

FREE LIVE VIDEO STREAMING: www.uwbadgers.com/game_day (just click on the volleyball icon)

QUICK HITS ABOUT THE IRISH: Below are some highlights of the notes package. For more details on any topic, consult the remainder of the release.

• The Fighting Irish were selected for the NCAA Tournament for the 15th consecutive season.

• The 15 straight appearances is a distinction shared by only seven other schools.

• Ten of Notre Dame’s 2006 opponents earned invitations to the tournament. Notre Dame had wins over three of those teams St. John’s, Alabama and Duke.

• Notre Dame’s first NCAA tournament appearance was in 1988.

• The best finish for the Irish was a run to the quarterfinals in 1993. Notre Dame has made five appearances in the round of 16.

• Overall, Notre Dame is 14-15 in the tournament. Twelve of the losses have come at the hands of a Big Ten opponent. Notre Dame was eliminated each of the last two seasons by Wisconsin.

• Notre Dame is one of three BIG EAST teams in the tournament this season (St. John’s and Louisville). That is highest number of schools ever selected for an NCAA Volleyball Tournament from the conference.

• Notre Dame wrapped up the 2006 regular season with a four-game loss to then No. 18 Ohio.

• This was only the third four-game loss of the season for the Irish.

• This also marked the first time that Notre Dame had lost on Friday this season.

• The Irish fell to 1-5 against ranked teams this year.

• Freshman Christina Kaelin led the attack with 19 kills. It was her 12th time leading the squad in kills this season.

• For the second time this season both Irish setters reached the 30 assists mark. Freshman Jamel Nicholas led the team with a career best 38 assists and junior Ashley Tarutis tallied 33 helpers.

• Wisconsin leads the all-time series between these two schools 6-1 and has eliminated Notre Dame from post-season play in each of the last two years.

• Junior Adrianna Stasiuk had a solid all-around effort against the Badgers last season with 15 kills and 20 digs.

• Junior setter Ashley Tarutis has started each of the last two matches against Wisconsin and has a career average of 10.50 assists per game against the northwestern neighbor.

• Notre Dame hasn’t squared off against Wisconsin-Milwaukee since `02 and hasn’t faced Iowa State since 1995.

• Notre Dame head coach Debbie Brown is still looking for her first win against the Badgers. She and the Irish have fallen to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons along with in `97.

• On the bright side, Notre Dame has claimed at least one victory over a Big Ten opponent in each of the last four years. The Irish have yet to face a Big Ten school this year.

• Notre Dame has now traveled 19,564.33 miles this season through the Louisville Invitational trip back home.

• Christina Kaelin has 25 blocks this season but 10 (40 percent) are solo blocks, by far the highest percentage on the team.

• Three Notre Dame volleyball players have played in all 111 games this season (Justine Stremick, Ashley Tarutis, and Danielle Herndon). Other trends include the fact that Notre Dame has used 11 different starting lineups this season, all of which have featured at least two freshman and sometimes as many as four.

• Junior Adrianna Stasiuk with her 23 double digit digs matches this season now has 67 in her career, which is fourth all-time in the double figure dig mark. She also has totaled 42 double-doubles, which is third all-time on that list. Her 18 double-doubles this year is the school’s fourth highest single season total.

• Ashley Tarutis with her 840 assists this season now has 3,563 assists in her career, which is only 122 behind Kristen Kinder for third.

• Freshman Christina Kaelin with five 20+-kill matches this year is just out of the top-10 all-time for career matches with 20+ kills for the Irish.

• Danielle Herndon is quickly moving up the career digs list. She now has 1,256 digs in her career, which is good for fifth all-time. Herndon’s 26 times leading the team in digs this season is second for Notre Dame having passed Meg Henican (2004) and Christy Peters (1993). Herndon’s 565 digs this year is second on Notre Dame’s list for a single season having just passed Meg Henican (2004).

• No individual Notre Dame player ranks among the top-10 in the BIG EAST in assists, yet the Irish thanks to both setters, Jamel Nicholas and Ashley Tarutis, are second in the conference in assists (14.73).

• Justine Stremick ranks sixth in the conference with her average of 1.37 blocks per game. Her 27 solo blocks placed her among the conference leaders.

• Justine Stremick’s 153 total blocks this year is nearly more than her next two teammates combined (159).

• Danielle Herndon ranks fourth in the conference in digs per game 5.09 The Irish lead the conference in digs as team with an average of 17.73 per game.

• The Irish remain second in the conference in kills per game 15.92, despite not having a single individual ranked among the top-10.

• In BIG EAST play only the Irish placed second in the league in hitting percentage (.266) and third in service aces per game (1.76), kills (16.27) and blocks (3.11).

• In conference play only, sophomore Justine Stremick finished fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.390)

• Notre Dame has had success on the first day of road trips going 6-3 in defeating Alabama, Butler, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Georgetown and Cincinnati.

• In neutral site matches, freshman Christina Kaelin has been outstanding with an averaged 3.73 kills per game. Notre Dame as a team is 4-3 in neutral site action.

• Notre Dame has been very good on Friday’s this season with a record of 8-1. Freshman Christina Kaelin likes to play on Friday’s as she averages 4.16 kills per game.

• Sophomore Justine Stremick has been at her best during road matches with 104 kills and a hitting percentage of .401 to go along with 52 blocks.

• Notre Dame completed its 2006 regular season home schedule ranking 14th nationally in attendance with an average of 1,849 fans per game.

• The Irish recently had a pair of players honored, as both junior Adrianna Stasiuk and sophomore Justine Stremick were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Volleyball Team. Stasiuk was a first-team selection and Stremick was a third-teamer. Stasiuk will move on to Academic All-America ballot by virtue of her being a first-team member.

• With the victory over Seton Hall on Saturday, Sept. 30, head coach Debbie Brown became only the 28th NCAA volleyball coach to reach the 500-win milestone. Her record now stands at 509-218 in her 22 years as collegiate head coach at Arizona State and Notre Dame.

• 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.

• Notre Dame had four home matches on home football weekends this season and went 3-1 with victories over Marquette, Syracuse and Connecticut and a loss to St. John’s.

• Danielle Herndon is the lone senior on the team, the first time since 1983 that the Notre Dame roster has had only have one senior.

• Over the last 16 years, Notre Dame is an impressive 187-32 (.854) at the Joyce Center.

• The Fighting Irish have compiled an overall record of 129-10 (.928), including a record of 71-2 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 WISCONSIN: The Badgers, the host institution finished third in the Big Ten during the regular season … Wisconsin swept then No. 22 Purdue over the weekend … this is the 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for Wisconsin … overall, the Badgers are 26-14 in 14 appearances in the championship and have advanced to the NCAA Regional finals (Elite Eight) the last two seasons … the Wisconsin attack is led by freshman Brittney Dolgner … Dolgner leads Badgers with 426 kills (4.14 per game) on a respectable .233 hitting percentage … senior outside hitter Maria Carlini has played solid with 322 kills … junior setter Jackie Simpson leads the team in assists with 1,247 and has also totaled 86 blocks … Simpson is one of three players (Faye McCormack and Taylor Reineke) on the Wisconsin roster that comes from the same club team (Sports Performance) as Notre Dame’s Megan Fesl and Adrianna Stasiuk … Reineke and Amy Bladow have both tallied 100+ blocks this season … the Badgers are coached by Pete Waite, who is in his eighth season at the helm of Wisconsin … the Badgers are 19-2 all-time in the post season at home … this is the third straight season that Wisconsin will host the first and second round.

SERIES VS. WISCONSIN: This is the third straight season the two school will hook up in the NCAA Tournament, with the Badgers defeating Notre Dame in each of the last two seasons … overall this is the eighth meeting between Notre Dame and Wisconsin, with the Badgers holding a 6-1 edge including a 30-25, 28-30,30-25,25-30, 15-9 victory in the round of 16 of the 2005 NCAAs in Madison … current senior Maria Carlini led all players with 22 kills on a .289 hitting percentage to go along with 15 digs … current sophomore Mallorie Croal led the Irish with 18 kills … Notre Dame’s lone triumph came in 1987, a 3-1 victory at home … 2002 graduate and current Loyola Chicago head coach Marcie Bomhack, a native of Waukesha who played for Catholic Memorial High School and the Milwaukee Sting Volleyball Club, is the only Wisconsin native to play volleyball for the Irish, finishing her career with 1,016 kills and 704 digs.

THE OPPONENTS WE SHARE: The Badgers and Irish have only faced one common opponent this season and that is No. 18 Ohio. Wisconsin defeated the Bobcats at home in a grueling five-game match, while the Irish were defeated by Ohio in a tough four gamer in the Louisville Invitational.

ND VS.WISCONSIN MATCH-BY-MATCH: See below for the match scores of the previous contest between the Irish and Badgers.

Wisconsin leads 6-1

$ – Shamrock Invitational (Notre Dame, Ind.)
^ – at NCAA Tourn. Regional (Madison, Wis.)
~ – at Inntower Invitational (Madison, Wis.)
! – at NCAA Championship second round (Madison, Wis.)
@ – NCAA Championship rd. of 16 (College Station, Texas)

SCOUTING WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE: Milwaukee-Wisconsin is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance, but first since 2002 … UWM is 0-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament … the Panthers earned a 2006 berth by winning the Horizon League Tournament title …UWM is led by Horizon League Player of the Year Cheryl Hegemann and Horizon League Tournament Most Valuable Player Sarah Moore … UWM head coach is Kathy Litzau, who won her seventh Horizon League Coach of the Year honors this season … Litzau (Cunningham) (1986-89) is a former Irish letter winner and assistant coach … she is in her 14th season with the Panthers … Wisconsin-Milwaukee is riding a 15-match winning streaking heading into the NCAA Tournament … the Panthers are 2-3 against teams in this years tournament … UWM is ranked among the top-20 nationally in several categories including kills, assists and winning percentage.

SERIES VS. WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE: Notre Dame and Wisconsin-Milwaukee have played three times previously in women’s volleyball … in the last meeting the 25th-ranked Irish beat the Panthers 30-26, 30-17, 30-17 in the Joyce Center in 2002 … the Irish are 1-0 against the Horizon League this season with a three game victory over Butler on Sept. 15 … overall Notre Dame is 39-11 against teams from the Horizon League, but during the Debbie Brown era the Irish are a perfect 24-0 … former Irish middle blocker Jennifer Rouse (1994-96) put together what is still the 12th highest hitting percentage match against the Panthers at .692 (10-1-13) in 1994.

THE OPPONENTS WE SHARE: The Irish and Panthers share five opponents this season. The Panthers went 4-2 in those six games with wins over Alabama, Marquette and Butler twice. Louisville and Wisconsin both defeated UWM this season. The Irish against those same opponents went 3-2 with wins over Butler, Alabama and Marquette and the two losses to Louisville.

ND VS.WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE MATCH-BY-MATCH: See below for the match scores of the previous contest between the Irish and Panthers.

Notre Dame leads 2-1

$ – Shamrock Invitational (Notre Dame, Ind.)

SCOUTING IOWA STATE: The Cyclones attack is led by senior Katie Jessen, who totaled 414 kills this season (3.88 per game) … junior middle blocker Erin Boeve is the best player on the squad and was recently named first team all-Big XII and Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the conference … Boeve ranks second on the team in kills 353 (3.18 per game) and leads the defense with 179 blocks (1.61 per game) … the head coach for the Cyclones is Christy Johnson … Johnson is in her second year in Ames and has totaled 21 wins in conference play over the last two years after the team compiled just 13 Big XII wins in 180 tries prior to her arrival.

SERIES VS. IOWA STATE: This will be only the second meeting between the two schools … the first meeting saw 15th-ranked Notre Dame eliminate Iowa State in the second round of the 1995 NCAA Tournament in three games by the scores of 15-3, 16-14, 15-10 … two former Irish players have come from the state of Iowa … Rachel Hall (1987-88) played in 45 games for the Irish in her two years … most recently Julie McElroy spent time with the team 2004 … the Irish lost both their matches to BIG XII teams this season ( Missouri and Kansas State).

THE OPPONENTS WE SHARE: The Cyclones and Irish shared four opponents this season. Iowa State in those six matches went 5-1 with victories over Northern Iowa, Valparaiso, Missouri and Kansas State twice. The lone loss for ISU was a regular season three gamer to Missouri. The Irish against those same four opponents went 1-3 with the win coming against Valparaiso.

ND VS. IOWA STATE MATCH-BY-MATCH: See below for the match scores of the previous contest between the Irish and Cyclones.

Notre Dame leads 1-0

! – NCAA Tournament Second Round (Notre Dame, Ind.)

A NOTEWORTHY ACCOMPLISHMENT: The Fighting Irish were selected to the NCAA Tournament for the 15th consecutive season and will take on No. 10 Wisconsin at 7 p.m. (CST) on Friday, Dec. 1 in Madison.

*The 15 appearances is a distinction shared by seven other schools.

• Ten of Notre Dame’s `06 opponents earned invitations to the tournament: Hawai’i (No. 12 seed), Duke, St. John’s Ohio, Louisville, Arizona State, Alabama, Missouri, Santa Clara and Northern Iowa. Notre Dame went 3-10 against this years NCAA tournament field with wins over St. John’s, Alabama and Duke.

• The Irish were one of three BIG EAST teams that were chosen for the tournament (Louisville and St. John’s). This is the largest contingent that conference has ever sent to the NCAA Tournament.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF NOTRE DAME IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: Notre Dame qualified for its first NCAA Championship in 1988, defeating No. 20 Penn State in the Joyce Center before falling to No. 4 Illinois … the best NCAA Championship results for Notre Dame were a 1993 quarterfinal appearance and reaching the round of 16 in `88, `94, `95, `97 and 2005 … Notre Dame is 14-15 (.483) in the NCAA Tournament … 12 of the Irish losses have come to Big Ten schools, including four of the last five and six of the last eight … Notre Dame is 2-12 against Big Ten in the NCAAs including seven consecutive losses from 1993-2004 … last season, Notre Dame defeated Dayton 3-2 in the opening round and Northwestern 3-0 in the second round before falling to No. 11 Wisconsin in the round of 16.

NOTES FROM THE OHIO MATCH: Notre Dame had several noteworthy performances from the Ohio match.

• Notre Dame wrapped up the 2006 regular season with a four-game loss to No. 18 Ohio

• This was only the third four-game loss of the season for Notre Dame

• This was the first time the Irish have been defeated on a Friday this season.

• The Irish fell to 1-5 against ranked team this season.

• Christina Kaelin led the team with 19 kills. It was her fourth consecutive match with double figure kills and the 12th time she has been the team leader in kills.

• Danielle Herndon picked up 18 digs to raise her season total to 565, which is the school’s second most ever digs in a single season.

• Herndon’s 26 times leading the team in digs is also second in a single season (Meg Henican-2004 (27)).

• Adrianna Stasiuk tallied her 18th double-double of the season with 17 kills and 16 digs.

• For the second time this season both Irish setters tallied 30 assists in the same match. Jamel Nicholas tallied 38, while Ashley Tarutis contributed 33.

• Serinity Phillips reached double-figures in kills for the ninth time with 15.

AGAINST THIS WEEK’S OPPONENT:

• The Irish have faced Wisconsin and had its season ended by the Badgers in each of the last two seasons in the NCAA Tournament.

• Junior Adrianna Stasiuk has started each of those matches over the last two seasons and has totaled 17 kills (2.12 per game) and 28 digs (3.50 per game). Stasiuk had a double-double in the 2005 NCAA Tournament with 15 kills and 20 digs.

• Junior Ashley Tarutis has also started each of the last two seasons against Wisconsin and is averaging 10.50 assists per game in her career against the Badgers. Last season, Tarutis put together 19 digs to go along with 58 assists against UW.

• Since Notre Dame hasn’t faced Wisconsin-Milwaukee since `02 and Iowa State since 1995, so no current Irish player has taken the floor against either of those schools.

• Debbie Brown has never defeated Wisconsin in five career attempts with the Irish, including three losses in the NCAA Tournament (`97, `04 and `05). Overall Notre Dame is 1-6 all-time versus the Badgers. On the bright side, Brown is 31-24 lifetime against the Big Ten competition and has defeated at least one Big Ten foe in each of the last four seasons previous to this year. Notre Dame is 1-0 all-time against Iowa State and 2-1 against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

THE PLACES WE’VE GONE: Following the trip to Louisville for Notre Dame, the Irish have logged 19,564.33 miles this season through bus and planes to destinations.

A LONE BLOCKER: Christina Kaelin has 25 blocks this season, but 10 (40 percent) of which are solo blocks, which is by far the largest percentage of solo blocks on the team.

THE IRON GROUP: Three Fighting Irish players have taken the court in all 111 games this season (Justine Stremick, Ashley Tarutis and Danielle Herndon). This group of three can be dubbed the “Iron Women” for taking the court in every game played this season.

A CONSISTANT CHANGE: The Fighting Irish have now used 11 different lineups this season. Every single one of the lineups combinations has used at least two rookies and sometimes as many as four rookies have been starting at the same time.

A WEEKLY WATCH: These are the individual player, both season and career stats, to be on the lookout for this week.

• Junior Adrianna Stasiuk with her 23 double figure digs matches this season now has 67 in her career, which is fourth all-time only two behind Jenny Birkner. Her 18 double-doubles this season move her into second along with Jessica Fiebelkorn with 42. Her 18 double-doubles this year is fourth highest total for a single year, only one behind Fiebelkorn for third.

• Junior Ashley Tarutis with 840 assists this season now has 3,563 assists in her career, which is fourth on the Notre Dame assists list only 122 behind Kristen Kinder for third place.

• Freshman Christina Kaelin with five 20+-kill matches this season is creeping up on the top-ten all-time at Notre Dame for 20+-kill matches in a career. Three former Notre Dame players (Christi Girton, Kathy Cunningham and Mary Kay Waller) hold the career mark of six 20+-kill matches.

• Senior Danielle Herndon is quickly moving up the Notre Dame digs list. She now has 1,256 career digs, which is good for fifth on the list. Herndon’s 26 times leading the team in digs this season is second for Notre Dame just passing Meg Henican (2004) and Christy Peters (1993) in a single season. Herndon’s 565 digs this year is second on Notre Dame’s list for a single season having just passed Meg Henican (2004). Herndon’s dig average this season of 5.09 is on pace be the highest single season average ever at Notre Dame. The 914 digs that Herndon and Stasiuk have combined for this season is already the second highest total put together by teammates. Herndon’s 27 matches with 10+ digs this season is tied for third in a single season with Henican (2003).

GETTING HER GROOVE BACK: Junior Ashley Tarutis has led the team in assists in 85 of the last 95 matches.

DOUBLING UP: Junior Adrianna Stasiuk has had a double-double in kills and digs in 18 of her 29 matches this season.

AN INTERESTING SITUATION: Notre Dame has switched up their two-setters junior Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas through much of the first 31 matches, where each one of them has led the team in assists in at least 10 matches this season. Due in part to the two-setter approach no individual setter was ranked among the top-10 in the BIG EAST, but Notre Dame, as a team is ranked second (14.73) in the conference in assists.

SENDING THEM BACK: Sophomore Justine Stremick ranks sixth in the conference with her average of 1.37 blocks per game. Her 27 solo blocks are among the conference leaders in the BIG EAST.

A POINT SAVER: Senior Danielle Herndon ranks fourth in the conference in digs per game at 5.09. The Irish lead the conference in digs per game (17.73).

MAKING A TEAM IMPACT: As a team the Irish climbed to second in the conference in kills per game at 15.92, despite not having any individual ranked among the top-10.

SHE STANDS ABOVE ALL: Justine Stremick is not only the tallest player on the team at 6’3″, she also has nearly more blocks with 153 this season than her next two closest teammates (Serinity Phillips and Kim Kristoff) combined, who total 159 together.

A DIFFERENT SEASON: The Irish were a different team once league play started, as they finished second in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.266). Notre Dame was also third in service aces per game (1.76). During regular season league play only, Notre Dame placed third in kills (16.27) and blocks per game (3.11)

GETTING IT DONE: Sophomore Justine Stremick finished fourth in the league in hitting percentage during regular season league only matches (.390).

FOUR IS ABOUT RIGHT: Notre Dame is a solid 7-3 this season when playing four games; so losing a game somewhere in the first three has ultimately been a key ingredient to success.

THE FIRST DAY IS OUR BEST: Notre Dame is 6-3 this season on the first day of a road trip, having defeated Alabama, Butler, Rutgers, Seton Hall and Georgetown and fallen to then No. 16 Hawai’i, Cincinnati and No. 18 Ohio. Sophomore Mallorie Croal, junior Adrianna Stasiuk and freshman Megan Fesl have led the charge. Croal has averaged 3.48 kills per game. Stasiuk is contributing 3.46 kills per game and 3.82 digs per game, while Fesl has tallied 11 service aces.

FRIDAY IS VERY GOOD TO US: Notre Dame is now 8-1 on Friday match days. The Irish have defeated Valparaiso, Alabama, Butler, Marquette, DePaul, Connecticut, Georgetown and Cincinnati. The Cincinnati match was the quarterfinals of the 2006 BIG EAST Championship. In those nine matches Notre Dame has 63 service aces (1.90 per game) to the oppositions 34. Freshman Christina Kaelin has enjoyed the Friday action as she is averaging 4.16 kills per game on Friday’s this season. Junior Adrianna Stasiuk had has steady performances on the first night of weekend’s with an average of 3.21 kills per game and 4.12 digs per game. Sophomore Mallorie Croal has also been a key contributor with her average of 3.25 kills per game.

ENJOYING THE ROAD: Sophomore Justine Stremick has played well for Notre Dame in road matches on the year with 104 kills on a hitting percentage of .401 to go along with 52 blocks. Notre Dame is 6-6 in road matches on the season.

SHE’S SWITZERLAND: In neutral site games this season freshman Christina Kaelin has been outstanding with a team leading average of 3.73 kills per game. The Irish are 4-3 in neutral site matches this season.

STASIUK AND STREMICK HONORED: The Irish had a pair of players honored recently as both junior Adrianna Stasiuk and sophomore Justine Stremick were named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Volleyball team. Stasiuk, a first-team selection with a 3.74 grade-point average as an accounting major, was named to the District V Volleyball team for the second time in her career. By virtue of her being a first-team selection she will move on to the Academic All-America ballot to be voted upon along with the 49 other first team members on the national ballot. Stremick was a third-team selection, as she had a 3.68 grade-point average as a science pre-professional major.

A SOLID RANKING: Notre Dame completed its 2006 home season ranking 14th nationally in attendance with an average of 1,849 fans per game and a total of 22,193 home fans saw the Irish play at the Joyce Center this season.

PACKING THEM IN: Aided by the football pep rally to follow, the attendance for Notre Dame’s match against Marquette on Oct. 6 was listed at 5,743. That crowd was to that point the 15th largest nationally and the second biggest crowd ever for a Notre Dame volleyball match at home. That number of fans is behind only the 8,643 fans that packed the Joyce Center for the Virginia Tech match on Nov. 7, 2003, which was also a pep rally match.

AN UNFORGETABLE MILESTONE: With the victory over Seton Hall on Sept. 30, head coach Debbie Brown has now won 500 career matches in her 22-year career. She becomes only the 28th NCAA volleyball coach to ever attain 500 or more victories in a career.

A MEDIA FRIENDLY TEAM: The Irish have now played eight matches on television this season. Notre Dame dropped its first television match to then No. 13 Missouri on Sept. 2 and also fell to Northern Iowa on Sept. 9. The Irish picked up a TV win against DePaul on Oct. 13 before falling twice to then No. 16 Hawai’i on Oct. 16 and 17. The Irish then fell to St. John’s in three games on Oct. 22. Notre Dame finished up their tough regular season TV schedule with a three game loss at the hands of Louisville on Sunday, Oct. 29. The Irish also took a five-game loss to Cardinals in the BIG EAST Championship Game, Nov. 19, which was shown on CSTV.

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 Irish blocker.

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.

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 seven 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, and sophomores Madison Clark, Mallorie Croal and Justine Stremick.

NEW FACES: The Notre Dame volleyball team has reloaded with six highly touted freshman vying for playing time this season. The freshmen this year are Tara Enzweiler, Megan Fesl, Christina Kaelin, Kim Kristoff, Jamel Nicholas and Serinity Phillips.

HONORS AND SELECTIONS: Junior outside hitter Adrianna Stasiuk and junior setter Ashley Tarutis were both chosen for the preseason all-BIG EAST squad.

Christina Kaelin was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Aug. 28 and Sept. 4.

Justine Stremick and Christina Kaelin were both named to the Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament Team on Sept. 2.

Danielle Herndon was a member of the UNI Invitational All-Tournament Team, Sept. 9.

Adrianna Stasiuk and Justine Stremick both took home some hardware from the Courtyard by Marriott Classic. Stasiuk was named the Co-Best Attacker of the Tournament while Stremick was named the Best Blocker.

Adrianna Stasiuk was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time in her career on Sept. 25.

Serinity Phillips was the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Oct. 9.

Mallorie Croal was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week on Nov. 6.

Adrianna Stasiuk and Justine Stremick were both named to ESPN The Magazine District 5 volleyball teams. Stasiuk was a first-team selection while Stremick was a third-team member.

Adrianna Stasiuk and Mallorie Croal both earned first-team all-BIG EAST honors this season, while Justine Stremick was a second team selection for the first time in her career.

HOME FOOTBALL WEEKENDS: For the sixth time in seven years, the Notre Dame volleyball team played matches this season that preceded football pep rallies. The Irish started the home portion of BIG EAST play against Marquette with a 3-1 win on Oct. 6. The second pre-pep rally match also saw Notre Dame come up with a victory over conference rival Connecticut, 3-0 on Oct. 22.

AN EXCEPTIONAL CLASS: The six 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 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.

SHE’S THE BOSS: Irish head coach Debbie Brown is now in her 16th season as the leader of the Notre Dame volleyball program. She has led the Irish to a 392-135 mark (.744), while holding an overall record of 509-218 (.700). Brown’s Notre Dame teams have earned 15 consecutive NCAA tournament bids, advancing to the quarterfinals in 1993 and the round of 16 in `94, `95, ’97 and 2005. 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.

A NEW MAN IN PLACE: The Fighting Irish in 2006 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 15 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is behind only seven other schools nationally (Stanford (26), Penn State (26), UC Santa Barbara (26), Nebraska (25), Long Beach State (20), USC (16) and Florida (16)) 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 188-33 record (.851) 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 179-12 (.937) 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 130-11 (.922) regular season mark, highlighted by 10 titles and winning streaks of 45 and 35 consecutive matches. Notre Dame is 72-3 (.960) in BIG EAST regular-season contests in the Joyce Center. The Irish have won nine BIG EAST tournament championships, posting a mark of 24-3 (.888) 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 43 all-conference accolades, including 26 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.