Sept. 13, 2007
Game Notes
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Through seven matches this season the Notre Dame volleyball team has already faced three top-15 opponents and will go head-to-head with two more of the nation’s best later this week. The Irish (3-4) travel to Santa Clara, Calif., for the Bronco Invitational and are set to face UC Santa Barbara, No. 11 California, and 22nd-ranked host Santa Clara.
Notre Dame comes off a 2-1 performance in last week’s Shamrock Invitational with wins over College of Charleston and Alabama. Each of Notre Dame’s losses this season have come from teams who at the time were either ranked or receiving votes in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Poll.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(3-4 overall, 0-0 BIG EAST)
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
(2-7 overall, 0-0 Big West)
Friday, Sept. 14, 2007 • 4:30 p.m. (CT)
Leavey Center • Santa Clara, Calif.
Series vs. UCSB: first meeting
Live Stats: SantaClaraBroncos.com
No. 11 California Golden Bears
(8-1 overall, 0-0 Pacific 10)
Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007 • 4:30 p.m. (CT)
Leavey Center • Santa Clara, Calif.
Series vs. California: Tied 1-1
Series Streak: Notre Dame – won 1
Last Meeting: Dec. 6, 1991 – Notre Dame, 3-2
Live Stats: SantaClaraBroncos.com
No. 22 Santa Clara Broncos
(6-3 overall, 0-0 West Coast)
Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007 • 11:00 a.m. (CT)
Leavey Center • Santa Clara, Calif.
Series vs. Santa Clara: Santa Clara 3-0
Series Streak: Santa Clara – won 3
Last Meeting: Sept. 3, 2006 – Santa Clara, 3-0
Live Stats / Audio / Video: SantaClaraBroncos.com
Last Time Out … Ellen Herman turned in a game-high 26 kills to lead No. 13 Ohio to a 3-1 (30-26, 25-30, 30-28, 30-23) win over Notre Dame in the championship match of the Shamrock Invitational at the Joyce Center … the Bobcats picked up their offense in the last pair of games and hit .513 in the final frame after posting a .128 mark in game two … Megan Fesl had 14 kills to pace the Irish, while Adrianna Stasiuk and Serinity Phillips each chipped in 12 … Fesl and Stasiuk finished with double-doubles as both notched 11 digs … ND’s defense struggled early to find a way to stop Ohio’s hot hitting in game one, but closed the gap late despite hitting .108 in the stanza … Ohio led by as many as 12 before Fesl put down a pair of points and Phillips laced a kill during a 13-4 run to make it 29-26 in favor of the Bobcats … Melissa Griffin locked up the win with a kill off Michelle Jantsch’s dish … the tides would turn in favor of the Irish as Kellie Sciacca had a kill on the slide to knot things at 7-7 in the second game, adding another to tie the count at 9-9 … an attack from Tara Enzweiler fell to give ND a 16-14 lead, and she assisted Fesl’s kill to put the Irish ahead by three at 18-15 … Ohio took the next three points no sooner than Sciacca knocked two of her five kills in the frame … she helped Notre Dame to a .268 hitting percentage in its lone game victory … game three turned into a battle quickly with neither team leading by more than three scores in its entirety … a solo block by Tarutis put ND up, 4-1, with Ohio taking the next four points … tied at 16-16, the Bobcats’ 4-0 run was ended by a converted attack by Fesl … Phillips put ND in front again, 25-24, with Stasiuk keeping that margin with a score at 26-25 … four-straight points by the Bobcats set up game point, but a pair of errors brought ND within one until Blackburn unleashed Ohio’s game-winner … Herman had 12 kills in game four, and the Irish found themselves with the lead only once (6-5) courtesy of Jantsch’s error on a swing.
History 101 … The duel with UC Santa Barbara will be the second-ever match between the two schools … the Gauchos garnered a third-place selection in the Big West Conference preseason coaches poll, tying them with UC Irvine … defending conference champion Cal Poly earned the number one spot and was followed by Long Beach State, which took second … UCSB reached its 26th consecutive NCAA Tournament last season, making it one of three programs (including Penn State and Stanford) to compete in every championship since the tournament’s inception in 1981 … the 2007 Gauchos will feature three returning starters from last year’s squad including two-time first team all-Big West honoree Brett Quirarte and all-freshman team honoree Rebecca Saraceno … outside hitter Lauren McLaughlin rounds out the list of returning starters … the UCSB roster will consist of a bevy of new faces with eight freshmen, including highly-touted setter Dana Vargas … the Irish vs. Bears match will mark the third meeting between the two programs … Cal took the first match in 1985 with a 3-0 win (6-15, 2-15, 6-15) … at the NIVC Tournament in Fairborn, Ohio, Notre Dame tacked on a 3-2 win when the squads squared off again in 1991 … the 2006 Cal squad advanced to the NCAA round of 16 for only the second time in school history, while finishing 22-10 overall and 13th in the final AVCA national poll … the Bears defeated LSU and Cal Poly, 3-1, in the NCAA first and second rounds, before falling to Stanford, 3-0, in the NCAA Regional in Austin, Texas … outside hitter Angie Pressey was selected to the six member USA Volleyball Open All-Tournament team, and helped her USA Red Squad to a second-place finish at the 2007 USA Volleyball Adult Open Championship … Pressey’s USA Red Squad was coached by Golden Bear assistant coach Matt McShane and Concordia University (Calif.) head coach Paula Weishoff … Pressey was a 2006 second-team AVCA All-American, an all-Pacific Region member and a first-team all-Pac-10 selection last fall, leading the Bears with 487 kills … she was also the co-MVP of the Cal Molten Classic and the MVP of the Golden Bear Invitational … Pressey is currently sixth on the Bears’ all-time kill list with 1,262 kills in three seasons … Santa Clara has yet to drop a match to Notre Dame, earning wins over the Irish in 1985, 1993, and most recently in 2006 … when Notre Dame visited the Broncos in 1985, it was sent home with a 3-0 loss … Santa Clara visited the Joyce Center as part of the field in the 1993 Golden Dome Invitational when the two squads battled to a five-game match that swung in favor of Santa Clara … No. 21 Notre Dame, playing in its fourth match in three days and second consecutive match against a ranked opponent, fell in three games to No. 6 Santa Clara in 2006 … Jamel Nicholas led the team in assists for the fourth consecutive match with 14.
Rolling In the Conference Honors … Freshman Kellie Sciacca was recognized on the BIG EAST’s weekly honor roll after posting 15 kills (.524) and nine blocks against Alabama in the Shamrock Invitational, which she followed with a 12-kill performance vs. No. 13 Ohio … Megan Fesl was a part of the same list one week earlier after a 20-kill output at Missouri while earning all-tournament honors at the Tiger Invitational.
Meet Me At the Net … Notre Dame currently leads the BIG EAST in blocks with 3.29/game … the next closest team on the list is Louisville with 3.08/game, though the Cardinals have also played in three more games (31) … UofL’s Lecia Brown tops league individuals with 1.74/game … the Irish have three players among the top-10: Justine Stremick (4th – 1.46/game), Kellie Sciacca (8th – 1.18/game) and Serinity Phillips (9th – 1.14/game).
Shining at the Shamrock … Two Irish players earned spots on the Shamrock Invitational all-tournament team, as Serinity Phillips and Megan Fesl represented Notre Dame after career weekends … Phillips had a personal-high 18 kills against Alabama on 48 attempts, and her 12 digs in first-round action with College of Charleston was also a career-best … Fesl’s second 20-kill match of the season came against the Crimson Tide with a pair of aces … a career-high 5.0 blocks came against College of Charleston for the sophomore.
Block Party … Notre Dame totaled a season-high 21.0 blocks against College of Charleston while holding the Cougars to an attack percentage of .151 … seven Irish players recorded blocks, with Justine Stremick leading the way with nine … Serinity Phillips had seven and setter Ashley Tarutis got her hand on six shots … the 21.0 blocks was the first 20+ block match for Notre Dame since a Sept. 2 date with Idaho in 2006 … collectively, the Irish had 20.0 blocks in that 3-1 win.
Join the Club … In a five-game tilt with Alabama, Adrianna Stasiuk smashed the 1,000th kill of her career to tie game three at 25-25, and in doing so joined 16 other players in the program’s history to reach that plateau … she also became only the seventh Notre Dame player ever to register 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career, as Jamie Lee (1994-97) and Angie Harris (1994-97) were the last to do so … not too much later in the frame, with the Irish ahead 29-28, Stasiuk connected on kill No. 1,002 to put the finishing touches on the Crimson Tide.
Sweet Home (Win Against) Alabama … The Irish were in a familiar – yet uncomfortable – spot during a 3-2 win over Alabama … just two matches earlier against Florida International, Notre Dame lost the first game and trailed, 2-1, going into the third frame … instead of hitting the panic button, ND came back to win both matches to remain undefeated in five-game contests this season … several program milestones were eclipsed against the Tide, which include the last time: a Notre Dame player had 20+ kills [Megan Fesl (20)]; five Notre Dame players had 10+ digs [Serinity Phillips (10), Ashley Tarutis (15), Megan Fesl (19), Adrianna Stasiuk (16), Angela Puente (15)]; four Notre Dame players had 15+ digs [Ashley Tarutis (15), Megan Fesl (19), Adrianna Stasiuk (16), Angela Puente (15)]; Notre Dame had 80+ digs (80); Notre Dame player hit .500+ [Kellie Sciacca (15-4-21, .524)]; Notre Dame hit .500+ as a team in a game … Sciacca’s .524 mark is third-best in school history for a five-game match … one week previous, the Irish set a school record by hitting .538 in game five against Florida International.
What a Difference a Year Makes … In game two against No. 13 Ohio, and attack from Tara Enzweiler got through the Bobcat defense to give ND a 16-14 lead … she soon assisted on a Megan Fesl kill to put the Irish ahead by three at 18-15 … it was not just a rare assist for the middle blocker, but a very rare assist … her last dish came exactly one year prior to the Ohio match against Kansas State at the Northern Iowa Invitational in Cedar Falls, Iowa (Sept. 9, 2006).
Haven’t We Met? When the Irish played College of Charleston, sophomore Tara Enzweiler and the Cougars’ Ginny Phillips were on opposite sides of the net for the first time since their prep days … the pair shared the court for Cardinal Gibbons HS in Raleigh, N.C., and also played on the same Triangle club team … Enzweiler led Cardinal Gibbons to state titles in 2003 and 2005 … Phillips was a part of the program’s championship team in 2005 and was able to add another to the resume in 2006 … Enzweiler speaks highly of the former teammate and her blocking ability … the two players spent this past summer training and working out together in the Raleigh area.
They’re Grrreat! Both Megan Fesl and Serinity Phillips earned spots on the all-tournament team at Missouri’s Tiger Invitational after posting career performances … Fesl turned in a personal-best 20 kills against Florida International and a season-high 16 digs against Missouri … with 19.0 points against the Golden Panthers, Phillips set a career-high in that stat column … she also had a season-high 15 kills and seven blocks in Notre Dame’s win over FIU.
Gimme Five…or Four … It’s nice when two or three players connect on 10+ kills in a match … but it’s even better when five can pull it off … that’s just what then-20th Notre Dame did when they faced Missouri last season, who was ranked 13th coming into the Sept. 2 match … Christina Kaelin (24), Mallorie Croal (14), Justine Stremick (14) Adrianna Stasiuk (13), and Megan Fesl (13) all had double-digit kill performances for Notre Dame … in the 2007 matchup, four Irish players hit the double-digit mark in that category: Serinity Phillips (11), Megan Fesl (14), Adrianna Stasiuk (10), and Justine Stremick (13).
(Taru)Tis Better To Give … Ashley Tarutis’ 47 assists against Missouri pushed her past Kristen Kinder (2000-03) for third-place on the school’s all-time assist list … the senior leads the Irish this season with 301 helpers (10.75/game) … she now has 3884 assists in her career after notching 49 against Ohio … in front of her is Denise Boylan and her total of 4687 … she has all but 95 of ND’s 396 assists this season.
Are You Down for a Road Trip? Missouri’s Tiger Invitational was originally slated to be a four-team tournament … Florida A&M opted to withdraw from the event, leaving Notre Dame without a Sunday match due to the shifted schedule … instead, the Irish left Columbia for St. Louis several hours before their flight departed town to take in some sights … the squad made it to the top of the Gateway Arch and watched the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Cincinnati Reds in Busch Stadium … with the scoreboard chock full of zeroes, the Cards’ Rick Ankiel led off the sixth inning with a solo homer and soon stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call … but Irish manager Hy Pham may have drawn an even louder ovation from the patrons of section 367 for an earlier performance … Pham took the spotlight by downing two hotdogs and a chicken sandwich – which was followed with a large soda – before the midway point of the first inning … Pham claims he has never used performance-enhancing drugs … Notre Dame also visited the University of Missouri Children’s Hospital on Saturday morning before playing Florida International later that evening … while there, they passed out Notre Dame volleyball memorabilia in addition to quite a few hugs, smiles, and laughs with patients.
Digging Upwards … With 12 digs against Florida, Adrianna Stasiuk took sole possession of third place on the school’s career list of matches with 10+ digs … now with 74, she passed Jenny Birkner’s spot on the chart and her total of 69 … third-place Christy Peters had 79 matches with 10+ digs from 1991-94 … Stasiuk was able to snatch 21 digs against Missouri (Sept. 2), which moved her ahead of Jamie Lee and into sixth-place for career digs.
Volleyball’s Cal Ripken … Ashley Tarutis saw action in each of Notre Dame’s eight games over the course of the Tiger Invitational, which then pushed her total of consecutive games played to a school-record 365 … libero Meg Henican played in 363 straight games between Nov. 17, 2002 – Dec. 9, 2005 … Tarutis is the only player in the history of the program to play in each game of every match (365 of 365) … next on the list is Lauren Brewster (.969 – 444/458) … Tarutus is also one of four players to play in every career match.
Check Next Door … There may have been a lot of head scratching going on when fans made their way to the Joyce Center’s main arena to watch Notre Dame battle No. 7 Florida on Aug. 26 … the arena was being used for a freshmen orientation session, and as a result, the Joyce Center Fieldhouse hosted its first-ever volleyball match … the televised competition was played in front of 721 fans.
Four Hands Are Better Than Two … Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas passed out 35 and 20 assists, respectively, in an Irish loss against No. 7 Florida … the occasion marked the second time in three matches that Notre Dame had two players record 20+ assists … the same duo accomplished the feat in the 2006 finale against No. 10 Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament.
Must Have Been Something She Ate … When Notre Dame cracked open the lid on the 2007 season, Serinity Phillips had three kills on 14 attempts with two errors for a .071 average against Minnesota … whatever she did on her day off between Friday evening and Sunday’s match with Florida must have worked … Phillips responded with a career-best .583 hitting percentage with 14 kills on 24 swats without an error … previously, Christina Kaelin (12-2-18, .556) was the last Irish player to hit .500+ when she did so in a 3-2 win at Cincinnati in 2006.
How’ve You Been Doing? Notre Dame’s non-conference opponents on the 2007 schedule went a combined 23-5 (.821) in the season’s opening week … at the time, seven of those squads were ranked in the CSTV/AVCA’s top-25 … not one of the 12 teams ended the week below .500
This Too Shall Pass … Not since 1990 has Notre Dame dropped its first two matches to start a season, albeit the pair of losses to kick off 2007 came against top-10 squads … that made five-straight losses for the Irish dating back to a 3-2 setback against Louisville on Nov. 19, 2006, which was the longest streak since the program dropped seven straight matches – twice – in 1990 … a five-game win over Florida International on Sept. 1 christened the win column for the Irish in 2007.
Another BIG (EAST) One … Senior Adrianna Stasiuk, a 2006 all-BIG EAST first team selection, was one of five unanimous selections on the league’s 2007 preseason squad, joining Kimberley Todd (Marquette), Diana Andreyko (Pittsburgh), and preseason co-players of the year Hui Ping Huang (St. John’s) and Tatyana Kolesnikova (Louisville) … she took home second-team hardware as a sophomore, the same year she won the BIG EAST Championship’s Most Outstanding Player award.
Starting Fresh … Two freshmen cracked the starting lineup in their first collegiate match against Minnesota in ND’s opener … Kellie Sciacca had six kills and got her hand on a pair of blocks while Angela Puente had eight digs from the libero position … the pair narrowly made it back from a freshmen orientation session to catch the start of the duel with Florida two days later.
Get `em While They’re Hot … Opening a season with highly ranked opponents is nothing new to the Irish … Purdue was the first ranked team Notre Dame ever faced to open a season … the Boilermakers were 10th in 1984 when they downed ND … the Irish played a top-10 foe two weeks into the 1995 season in the Notre Dame Invitational … after beating Northwestern, #9 USC won the second match, 3-0 … #6 Pacific was ND’s third opponent in 1999 and downed the Irish, 3-0, in the Shamrock Invitational … Notre Dame had won its first two matches of the season over unranked opponents … an unranked Irish team traveled to the Four Points Sheraton Classic in Malibu, Calif., to start the 2003 season … they beat #10 Arizona, 3-1, before losing to host Pepperdine, who was ranked 5th-best in the nation … in the following week’s poll, Notre Dame jumped to the 21st spot … after opening with a home win against Loyola (Ill.) in 2004, ND suffered a pair of losses to #4 Nebraska at the Joyce Center.
Brown to Win … Debbie Brown notched her 500th career win as a head coach during the 2006 campaign, and her 509 win total ranks 27th in that category among active coaches entering the 2007 season … in fact, only two active coaches have more wins in as many seasons … she is five wins shy of No. 400 as Notre Dame’s head skipper.
Mal-mentum … After putting together a band of seven consecutive double-doubles to end the season, which was the second longest streak in the record books, junior Mallorie Croal picked up a spot on the BIG EAST’s preseason squad … and that’s after she earned first-team honors in 2006.
Why Not Both? Adrianna Stasiuk reached double figures in digs 24 times in 2006, which placed her seventh on that list for a single season … her streak of 10 consecutive matches with 10+ digs (Sept 17-Oct. 20, 2006) is tied for the fourth-longest streak in a single season … she has six 10+ dig efforts in 2007.
Closing In … Sophomore Christina Kaelin had five 20+kill matches last season to finish tied for sixth in a single season … Christy Peters holds the all-time single season mark of nine (1994) … after one season, Kaelin is one spot shy of Notre Dame’s all-time top-10 list for career 20+kill matches.
Spoiling the Party … The Irish had never dropped a home opener under head coach Debbie Brown since she took over the program in 1991 until this season’s loss to Minnesota … the defeat also marked the first time an Irish team had not started a season – at home or away – with a win since they fell 3-1 to Montana in the 1990 opener.
Re-Joyce Center … Notre Dame is now 21-7 in home openers and had won its last 17 before falling to Minnesota … previously, the last time the Irish dropped an opener in the Joyce Center was in 1989 to Western Michigan, 3-2, in the Notre Dame Invitational … before this season, no ND team has started play on its home court with back-to-back matches against top-10 teams.
Down, But Not Out … Christina Kaelin (shoulder) and Mallorie Croal (ankle) both missed Notre Dame’s season opener against Minnesota and still have yet to see the court … Croal is expected to return to action within the next few weeks while Kaelin could possibly see action later in the year.
And You Thought You Had It Bad … Not only did Notre Dame face two top-10 squads in the season’s first weekend, but seven of its 13 non-conference opponents were ranked among the nation’s top 25 in the CSTV/AVCA Coaches Preseason Poll … additionally, three more non-conference foes along with Louisville and St. John’s received votes in the standings … the RichKern.com Poll had eight future Irish opponents in its preseason top-30, with five more appearing within the following 10 spots.
–ND–