Nov. 8, 2007
With the BIG EAST Conference Championships almost one week away, Notre Dame enters its final regular-season weekend with a 11-12 overall record and a 7-5 mark in league play. Upcoming opponents Cincinnati (17-9 overall, 8-4 BIG EAST) and No. 17 Louisville (19-4 overall, 12-0 BIG EAST) have already secured seats in the conference tournament, which will be hosted by Marquette Nov. 16-18.
Eight of the league’s fifteen teams will earn spots in the post-season conference tournament. Notre Dame currently finds itself in a three-way tie for fifth place with South Florida (7-5 BIG EAST) and UConn (7-5 BIG EAST).
Cincinnati and Villanova each have 8-4 conference records, with Pittsburgh at 7-6.
Pending the outcomes of Saturday’s league matches, the eight-team field for the BIG EAST Tournament may not be determined until the final match ends on Sunday afternoon.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(11-12 overall, 7-5 BIG EAST)
Cincinnati Bearcats
(17-9 overall, 8-4 BIG EAST)
Friday, Nov. 9, 2007 • 4:00 p.m.
Notre Dame, Ind. • Joyce Center
Series vs. Cincinnati: Notre Dame leads 6-1
Series Streak: Notre Dame – won 1
Last Meeting: Nov. 17, 2006 – Notre Dame, 3-2
Live Video/Audio/Stats: UND.com
Last Time Out…Three players combined for 53 of Notre Dame’s 72 kills in a BIG EAST Conference victory against South Florida on Sunday … sophomore Serinity Phillips and junior Justine Stremick each had 18 kills and sophomore Megan Fesl totaled 17 in front of a Joyce Center crowd of 1,205 … both Stremick and Phillips also had seven blocks … the 3-1 (30-25, 30-24, 21-30, 30-21) win pushed Notre Dame’s home winning streak to four matches and improved its record to 11-12 overall and 7-5 against BIG EAST opponents … South Florida (16-8 overall, 7-5 BIG EAST) was led by Marcela Gurgel and her match-high 23 kills … she also shot in four aces and was one of three Bulls with double-doubles … only one player on the Irish roster locked a double-double, as senior Ashley Tarutis distributed a season-high 63 assists while getting under 14 digs … classmate Adrianna Stasiuk fell one kill shy of her 18th double-double of the season … the outside hitter had nine kills and 13 digs along with one of three Irish aces … freshman Kellie Sciacca had 10 kills on 18 swings with an error for a .500 mark, as the Irish managed to finish the afternoon with a .275 hitting percentage … first-year libero Angela Puente piled a match-high 18 digs to equal her career-best total set earlier in the season against Florida … “I am really happy with the team’s performance and I feel like we executed the game plan well,” said head coach Debbie Brown … “we had hoped that our middles would have a successful night, and they did … Ashley (Tarutis) did a nice job of getting all of the hitters involved, and we had good contributions off the bench” … the offensive efforts of Phillips and Stremick merged to total half of ND’s 30 points in game one … Stremick wrapped up the frame with eight kills on 12 attempts for a .583 percentage and Phillips had seven kills … twenty Tarutis assists led to a .310 team hitting percentage … the Irish got on the board with a pair of Stremick kills … Phillips went with a pair of early tips over the USF blockers, then Stremick gave Notre Dame its first lead when, after continuing the play with a pair of stops at the net, she converted on a swing to make the score 9-8 … Phillips and Stremick leaped for a block at 11-8, followed by a solo stop by Phillips at 12-8 … the lead stayed at four points on Stasiuk’s backrow bomb (14-10) and Sciacca’s kill off a quickset (19-15) … but USF tied it at 20-20 with Gurgel’s ace before Nakia Williams’ solo block gave the Bulls a 21-20 lead … Stremick threw down a freeball to put Notre Dame back ahead, 22-21, adding a shot down the right line to spark a 5-0 run to take final control of the game … it was then Fesl who came up big in game two with six kills on nine swings as Notre Dame recorded a .366 hitting average … an 11-11 tie quickly transpired into a 15-11 gap in favor of ND when Fesl launched a kill from the left side then sent a screamer down the line following a South Florida timeout … the Bulls put together a rally to draw a 19-19 tie, and Notre Dame took the next three points as it held on to the lead for good after that point … Fesl had a solo block (24-20), a powerful facial (26-20), then finished the rally with her final kill of the frame at 28-22 … three service aces and six kills by Gurgel in the third set proved to be the difference the Bulls needed to win their lone game by a nine-point margin … Notre Dame scored four-straight to open play, which was answered by five-in-a-row from the Bulls … Kristina Fabris had a kill to give the visitors an eight-point lead (22-14), and they would add one more score to that margin as Gurgel ended the game with back-to-back aces … five blocks – including three by Phillips – helped Notre Dame seal the match with a game-four win … on the offensive side of the net, four kills apiece by Sciacca, Fesl, and Stasiuk were enough for the Irish to overcome nine ties and five lead changes … Stasiuk and Puente each had six digs over the stretch.
History 101 … Notre Dame and Cincinnati split a pair of matches in 2006, as the Irish redeemed a regular-season loss by knocking the Bearcats out of the BIG EAST Championship with a come-from-behind win in five games … it was the first time Notre Dame had trailed 2-1 and came back to win on the season … the match also marked the second time all season that Notre Dame had a pair of players with 20+ kills in the same match … Mallorie Croal had 25 kills while Adrianna Stasiuk slammed 23 … Christina Kaelin had 11 kills in the contest, all of which came in the final two games … Cincinnati’s 3-0 win on Oct. 28 was its first defeat of an Irish squad … the Irish knocked off Cincinnati in the 2005 BIG EAST Championship finale in the Louisville, with Notre Dame winning 30-20, 30-20, 30-14 … earlier that season, ND won all three games over the Bearcats by a margin of 30-24, 30-27, 30-27 … the Irish hold a 18-7 advantage in games won in the series … the first-ever match between the teams was a five-game affair in the 1987 Eastern Kentucky Colonel Invitational in Richmond, Ky. (ND won with a 15-10 fifth game) … the schools did not play again until an Irish win in the opening round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio … Zanette Bennett cranked 31 kills against the Bearcats in the 1987 match, a total which stands tied for the third-highest ever by an Irish player in any length match … she finished with a .529 hitting mark (4 errors, 51 attempts) in that match, which is the second-highest mark in program history in a five-game affair … Irish great Mary Jo Hensler (1981-84) hails from the Cincinnati area.
Play Hard, Study Harder … Adrianna Stasiuk and Justine Stremick were both earned spots on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V volleyball team … Stasiuk, and accountancy major with a 3.72 cumulative GPA, found a seat on the first-team for the second time in as many seasons … with a GPA of 3.76 and a mathematics / life sciences major, Stremick was one of six members on the second-team … she was also a third-team selection on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V volleyball team in 2006.
One Kill Away …Currently sitting in 11th place on the school’s all-time kills list, senior Adrianna Stasiuk (1,214) needs one more kill to tie Kristy Krehen (1,215: 1998-2001) for the No. 10 spot on that list … entering Friday’s match with Cincinnati, Stasiuk has logged 3.14 kills/game.
Set It Off … Coming off a season-high 63-assist effort in a four-game duel with South Florida, setter Ashley Tarutis now needs 77 helpers to total 1,000 on the season … Tarutis had 1,150 assists as a freshman, 1,573 as a sophomore, and 860 last season … her 10.22 assists/game average is eighth on the all-time list … the last time an Irish player had 60+ assists in a match was in 2005, when Tarutis logged 62 in a 3-2 win at Louisville.
Fesl Fest ’07 … Friday’s match against Cincinnati marks the first time that sisters Megan Fesl (Notre Dame) and Annie Fesl (Cincinnati) will be on opposite sides of the net … the two were teammates at John Hersey HS in Arlington Heights, Ill. … adding to the mix, their father, Rich, will sing the national anthem to open the match … “I’ve always thought it would be pretty cool to sing the national anthem at a sporting event,” Rich says … “and here, the opportunity presents itself” … Rich and his wife, Joan, will be sitting with their large extended family and can be seen donning specially designed t-shirts, which feature both the Fighting Irish and Bearcat logos, capturing their divided loyalties.
Stremick Continues Hot Streak … Firing in a .684 hitting percentage against Georgetown was junior Justine Stremick, a mark that put her in a tie for 23rd on the program’s top single-match performance chart … she hit .708 earlier in the season against Rutgers, and is third on the program’s career-average list with a .312 clip … Stremick hung 13 kills on the Hoyas, then lit up the Bulls for 18 converted swings on a .382 average … last season, she had 15 kills on 20 attempts without an error for a .750 percentage as Notre Dame beat the Bulls, 3-0, in Tampa … Stremick also had seven blocks against both Georgetown and South Florida, bringing her average to 1.48 blocks/game in conference contests, ranking her fourth in the league … overall, her 1.40 blocks/game puts her at 37th among players across the nation.
Calling Baton Rouge …Looking back at Notre Dame’s matchup with the LSU Tigers … Notre Dame is now 1-2 against teams from the Southeastern Conference after splitting matches with Florida and Alabama earlier in the season … the Irish will have a chance to even its record against SEC foes in a match at Tennessee on Nov. 23 … Adrianna Stasiuk collected 21 scoops to move into third-place on the school’s all-time digs list … she also had 15 kills and was one of two Irish players to post double-doubles, with sophomore Serinity Phillips joining her with 20 kills and 17 digs … leading the Irish in the digs category with 23 was freshman Megan Dunne, the most recorded by any member of the team this season … the match marked the first time since 1989 that neither team held a national ranking entering the contest … the Irish have battled in six five-gamers this season, going 3-3 in those matches … consecutive tilts with California and Santa Clara earlier in the season were the first back-to-back five-game matches Notre Dame played since 2005, when they split a pair with Tennessee (L, 3-2) and Dayton (W, 3-2) … the Irish played a total of four five-gamers in 2006.
Vintage Records …Notre Dame was victorious against DePaul (Oct. 19) for the fifth-straight time against the Blue Demons … the home sweep 3-0 (30-12, 30-13, 30-15) was the second-quickest match in the history of the Joyce Center, finishing in 1:04 … Kim Kristoff tied a career-high total in the ace category with five … the Irish coasted to post the widest margin of victory in the program’s history, as the fifty-point spread was six more than the total number of points the Irish put on the board against Loyola in 2002 … a stifling Irish defense limited DePaul to a -.034 hitting percentage for the match, including a pair of sub-.000 games … it was the first time Notre Dame held an opponent under .000 hitting since Cincinnati finished with a -.057 mark in a 2005 match … for the first time since Notre Dame traveled to DePaul during the 2006 season to pick up a 3-0 win, not a single Irish player recorded double-digit kills … the match was played in front of 2,276 fans – the tenth-largest home crowd in Notre Dame history.
I Hit `Em High …Justine Stremick turned in several career-best marks in ND’s match at Syracuse … she helped spark the Irish attack with 19 kills on 36 attempts, and was responsible for 24.0 points … setter Ashley Tarutis coaled the offensive fire and dished out a 58 assists in the contest, which was a (then) season-high for the senior.
You Hit `Em Low …Adrianna Stasiuk totaled enough digs against LSU (21) to move into the No. 3 spot on the all-time digs list … ahead of her is Christy Peters (1991-94) with 1,640.
Trading Spaces … Heading into the Marquette match, Notre Dame had never dropped a decision to the Golden Eagles … the Irish left Milwaukee with its first loss to the team in 10 tries … previously, Notre Dame held a 9-0 all-time edge over Marquette … on the latter side of the BIG EAST weekend, Syracuse – who had won the first of the 16 all-time matches between the Orange and Irish – fell to Notre Dame for the 15th-straight time since the Orange snagged the series-opening win in 1981.
With Honors …Junior Justine Stremick turned in an incredible performance against Rutgers by finishing the match with a .706 hitting percentage, which was the highest mark by any Irish player since she turned in a .750 clip last season against South Florida … the average against the Scarlet Knights tied her for the 12th-best hitting percentage by a player in program history … also against Rutgers, freshman Kellie Sciacca hit over .400 (.412) for the fifth time this season … both players were recognized on the BIG EAST’s weekly honor roll for their accomplishments … Sciacca received that honor on Oct. 15 as well, and the BIG EAST also named her as its Freshman of the Week on Oct. 22 … the pair made an appearance on the Honor Roll on Nov. 5 as well.
Good Reason To Get Defensive …In a 3-0 win over Rutgers, Notre Dame did more than just pick up its third BIG EAST Conference win of the season … the team picked up the spirits and hopes of fans, friends, and family by raising $5,900 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure grassroots network of Northern Indiana in its first-annual Dig for the Cure match, with the total amount going towards breast cancer research … “the Dig for the Cure was a wonderful event for us, and I hope we got the annual match off to a great start,” said Irish head coach Debbie Brown … “we’ve already thought of ways to make the entire experience better in hopes of raising even more money next season” …. fans were challenged to equal or exceed Brown’s pledge of $5 for each of her team’s digs in the match … the Irish defense scooped 39 digs in the three-game tilt to produce $1,848 in donations … commemorative jerseys with pink lettering worn by the team during the conference showdown were donated by adidas … the jerseys were then auctioned off to yield a total of $2,125, with the top earner bringing in $250 … a trio of Dig for the Cure t-shirts autographed by the team were auctioned off during intermission, with each going for $200 … “I was impressed with the number of people that bid on jerseys, bought t-shirts, and donated money by sponsoring digs,” added Brown … “this was a great starting point for us to build on in years to come.”
Twice the Celebration …With the Notre Dame football team’s 20-6 win over UCLA and an Irish volleyball sweep over Rutgers, Saturday (Oct. 6) marked the first time this season that both the football and volleyball teams were victorious on the same day … the volleyball team had previously won on three football game-day Saturdays … the next time the two squads could potentially play on the same date is Nov. 17, when the football team wraps up the home portion of its schedule against Duke … the Irish netters could be competing simultaneously in the second round of the BIG EAST Conference Championships hosted by Marquette.
Serene Killer … One week after racking up a career-high 23 kills at West Virginia, sophomore Serinity Phillips exploded for 26 in a five-game match with Villanova … she had only six errors on 63 swings for a .317 average … Phillips leads the Irish with 310 total kills and 3.41/game.
Game Four Was a Bottomless Pitt …Notre Dame downed conference foe Pittsburgh 15-straight times between 1992-2002, but since then Pitt has taken five of the last seven meetings, including a 3-1 home win for the Panthers in 2007 … in that battle, Notre Dame combined to score 82 points with Pittsburgh in the fourth game of a match that was also both team’s BIG EAST Conference opener … there were 27 ties and 15 lead changes in the elongated period, and senior Adrianna Stasiuk contributed nine of her 14 kills in the game … the Irish set a school record for most points in a four-game match (131), and tied the program’s mark for the fourth-highest point total in an affair of any length … their 40 points in game four was the most ever won in a single game, eclipsing the previous high of 37 in game one of a 3-1 victory over Eastern Washington in 2003.
If the Jersey Fits … Adrianna Stasiuk started each of the matches during the opening conference weekend at the libero position, and even tied a season-high mark of 21 digs at Pittsburgh … Stasiuk fired home 14 kills in the final two games against the Panthers after being relieved of libero duties … she had 17 scoops at West Virginia and came one kill shy of recording her eighth-straight double-double … it was the first time the senior had not notched 10 or more kills in a match since the season opener against Minnesota.
(Taru) Tis Better To Give … Ashley Tarutis had 12 assists in game one against Pittsburgh to push her four-year total over 4,000 … she became the third player in school history to record at least 4,000 in a career, joining Janelle Karlan (5,197: 1990-93) and Denis Boylan (4,687: 1997-2000) … Tarutis’ 47 assists against Missouri pushed her past Kristen Kinder (2000-03) for third-place on the school’s all-time assist list.
Line Fusion … A pair of shifts in the Irish starting lineup by head coach Debbie Brown to start BIG EAST play gave junior Mallorie Croal (at Pittsburgh) and sophomore Kim Kristoff (at West Virginia) their first starts of the season … Serinity Phillips, Kellie Sciacca, Megan Fesl, Justine Stremick, Adrianna Stasiuk, and Ashley Tarutis have all started each contest this year … two of Stasiuk’s starts have been at the libero spot … Croal, Kristoff, Megan Dunne, and Angela Puente have also received starting nods.
Take Five …Serinity Phillips (14), Kellie Sciacca (14), Megan Fesl (13), Justine Stremick (10), and Adrianna Stasiuk (14) comprised the five-player group that had 10+ kills in a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh … the feat was a first for an Irish squad since Christina Kaelin (24), Mallorie Croal (14), Stremick (14) Stasiuk (13) and Fesl (13) did the same versus Missouri on Sept. 2, 2006 … ND dropped that match, 3-2.
A Long Time Coming … A run of four losses to ranked teams this season came to an end when ND downed No. 22 Santa Clara … before doing so, the last ranked team Notre Dame dismantled was No. 24 St. John’s during the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament (Nov. 18).
Rolling In the Conference Honors … Middle blocker Kellie Sciacca was voted the league’s Freshman of the Week (Sept. 17) after she posted career-best marks in every major statistical category for the Irish at the Bronco Invitational in Santa Clara, Calif. … Sciacca became the first Irish player to record 10+ blocks – since teammate Justine Stremick did so last season against Idaho – when she registered 10 against No. 11 California in Notre Dame’s 3-2 loss … she turned in the team’s highest individual hitting percentage of the season (.625) with a personal-best 16 kills against No. 22 Santa Clara while adding career-highs of three aces and six digs in the winning effort … she finished the three-match invite with 37 kills and a .361 mark over 14 games.
Hoisting the Hardware … Freshman Kellie Sciacca was recognized on the BIG EAST’s weekly honor roll (Sept. 10) 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 (Sept. 3) after a 20-kill output at Missouri while earning all-tournament honors at the Tiger Invitational.
Hello…Is It Me You’re Looking For?Coming off an injury, preseason all-BIG EAST choice Mallorie Croal saw her first action of the season in an Irish loss to No. 11 California … Croal, who played sparingly, had a kill and two digs … she put together a band of seven consecutive double-doubles to end the 2006 season, which is the second longest streak in the record books.
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 was 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, 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.
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), Fesl (14), Stasiuk (10), and Stremick (13).
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).
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 (then) 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 (then) career-high 5.0 blocks came against College of Charleston for the sophomore.
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 (441 of 441) throughout a career … next on the list is Lauren Brewster (.969 – 444/458) … Tarutis is also one of four players to play in every career match.
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 … Tarutis had 45 assists with Nicholas adding 21 in the BIG EAST opener at Pittsburgh … both handed out 20+ vs. Villanova.
They’re Grrrrrreat!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 (then) season-high 15 kills and seven blocks in Notre Dame’s win over FIU.
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 collectables in addition to quite a few hugs, smiles, and laughs with patients.
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.
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 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.
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–