Sept. 18, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Trailing by five points midway through the third set Saturday at Purcell Pavilion, Santa Clara rallied to defeat the Notre Dame volleyball team, 26-24, to cap off a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 26-24) non-conference victory. The second straight loss dropped Notre Dame’s overall record to 7-4 as Santa Clara improved to 8-4.
Santa Clara trailed, 14-9, and tied the set at 15-15 after a trio of Irish attack errors. The Broncos then fed Kayla Lommori down the stretch and took advantage of Notre Dame’s .081 attack pct. in the frame for the victory.
The Irish wrap up the Notre Dame Invitational at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 19) against No. 20 Dayton. Live video, audio and stats will be available at UND.com.
Lommori finished with 15 kills with eight digs and Kaleigh Duret added 11 kills and three blocks for the Broncos.
Notre Dame was paced by senior Kellie Sciacca’s nine kills and seven blocks. Junior Kristen Dealy was good for eight kills and 14 digs as junior Frenchy Silva posted 16 scoops for the Irish.
Santa Clara (.244) out-hit Notre Dame (.096) on the evening and maxed out in the first set with a .400 average. Notre Dame led, 6-2, on a Bronco error to finish a 4-0 run in the opener but Santa Clara scored five of the next six to tie it at 7-7. Freshman Andrea McHugh tied it with a kill at 10-10 as Santa Clara rattled off four straight to go back ahead for good.
Dealy had four kills in the second set and was bettered only by Lommori’s seven. Three of Lommori’s came during a 5-0 run that broke open a 17-17 stalemate, and two more finished the job for the Broncos.
Dealy’s ace and McHugh’s early kill in the third gave Notre Dame a 5-1 cushion. Three straight Irish hitting errors tied it at 15-15, and two errors on Santa Clara’s side put Notre Dame back ahead by a deuce. Sciacca connected three times for scores as the board read 20-18 in favor of Notre Dame. Santa Clara scored three straight and won after a pair of Irish errors ended the set.
–ND–