Nov. 25, 2011
DAYTON, Ohio – Senior Kristen Dealy had 14 kills and junior Hilary Eppink added eight more during Notre Dame’s 3-0 (31-29, 25-20, 25-19) non-conference volleyball setback at Dayton Friday night at Frericks Center.
The Flyers improved to 25-6 overall with Notre Dame heading home with a 17-13 record.
Notre Dame, which advanced to the BIG EAST Conference Championship finale, now awaits Sunday’s NCAA Volleyball Tournament selection show televised at 6:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU to see if it receives an at-large bid into the postseason showdown.
Dayton’s Yvonne Marten led all players with 18 kills (.333) and added 10 digs for her third straight double-double.
The Flyers achieved their fifth sweep in the last six matches with a pair of comeback performances in the first and second sets.
In the first set, Dayton trailed 21-18 before rallying to tie things at 22-22. The set teetered in extra points and the Irish held a 29-28 lead before Marten issued two kills which set the table for Dayton’s set point.
Notre Dame led in the second, 6-2, with the Flyers storming back to take a 17-11 lead as the home squad won the set, 25-20, and came out on top of the third frame by a six-point margin.
The Irish hit a match-high .212 in the opener and .178 on the evening. Sophomore Andrea McHugh laid down seven kills with a team-best 16 digs and two aces.
Both Eppink and junior Marie Roof led the Irish with two blocks apiece.
Senior Frenchy Silva had 15 kills as sophomore Maggie Brindock was good for seven digs and 18 assists.
Sophomore Sammie Brown chipped in 17 assists for the Irish in the losing effort.
Dayton’s Paige Vargas notched a match-high 20 kills and Samantha Selsky dished out 45 assists as the Flyers hit .265 with 8.0 blocks for the win.
–ND–