Oct. 18, 2005
NORMAL, Ill. – Outstanding play by sophomore OH Adrianna Stasiuk (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South H.S.) and a strong blocking performance led the University of Notre Dame women’s volleyball team (16-1) – which moved up to #9 in the AVCA national poll earlier in the day – to a 30-24, 27-30, 30-24, 30-23 victory over Illinois State (11-7) Monday evening in Redbird Arena in front of a crowd of 1,615. Stasiuk finished with a career-high 20 kills on .349 hitting to go with 16 digs, while the Irish posted 21.5 blocks, their most since last year’s match against the Redbirds.
Stasiuk converted on nearly half of her 43 attempts and finished with four more kills than her previous career best, which she did against Valparaiso last season and earlier this month vs. St. John’s. She has been in double figures in kills in each of the last seven matches – after not doing that up to that point in the season – and has now had five double-doubles in that span and 14 in her career.
Six players had at least four blocks, as the Irish turned in by far their top blocking performance of the season (5.38 per game), besting a 20-block output in five games against Texas. Senior middle blockers Carolyn Cooper (Houston, Texas/Lutheran South Academy) and Lauren Brewster (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood H.S.) were both in on eight blocks, with three of Cooper’s of the solo variety. Senior OH Lauren Kelbley (Bascom, Ohio/Hopewell-Loudon H.S.) also had three solo blocks and took part in a season-high six blocks. Sophomore OH Ellen Heintzman (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) matched her career high in blocks, finishing with five, a total she also registered against Northern Iowa last season. Sophomore S Ashley Tarutis (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos H.S.) posted a career-high four blocks, while Stasiuk also had four. Monday’s output marked the most blocks for Notre Dame since notching 25.5 in a five-game win vs. the Redbirds last season. It was the most blocks in a match shorter than five games for the Irish since Sept. 29, 2002, when ND had 22.5 in four games against St. John’s.
Notre Dame has now won nine consecutive matches – its longest winning streak since 2003 – and is 16-1. That matches the best 17-match start in school history, done previously by the 1994 (20-1) and ’95 (16-1) squads. Illinois State had won five in a row.
The Irish are now 8-0 this season in matches on the opponent’s home court. That matches the Notre Dame record for consecutive wins in true road matches. ND won eight straight from Nov. 2, 1991, to Sept. 26, 1992.
Heintzman had her best match of the season, also posting a season-best 10 kills to go with three digs. Brewster added 10 kills, while Kelbley had eight, and Cooper added seven.
Senior co-captain L Meg Henican (New Orleans, La./Isidore Newman H.S.) led the Irish floor game with 19 digs, while junior DS Danielle Herndon (Plant City, Fla./Durant H.S.) had 11. Freshman DS Madison Clark (Sturgis, Mich./Sturgis H.S.) added a collegiate-high 10, and Tarutis notched nine.
Tarutis had 51 assists, and Notre Dame finished with a .231 attack percentage, including .400 in game one.
In the 26-year varsity history of Notre Dame volleyball, only three schools (Pittsburgh-23, Valparaiso-23, Butler-19) have played more matches against the Irish than Illinois State (Purdue also has played 18 vs. ND). ND has now won seven straight against the Redbirds and holds a 12-6 advantage in the all-time series.
After playing four in a row – and 12 of the last 14 – on the road, Notre Dame will return this week to the Joyce Center, which will be busy for the rest of the season. The Irish will first begin a five-match homestand on Friday at 4 p.m. (EST/CDT) with the first-ever match between Notre Dame and the University of South Florida in women’s volleyball. That contest will be played before the pep rally for the ND-Brigham Young football game. Admission is free and fans may keep their seats for the pep rally. Nine of Notre Dame’s remaining 11 regular-season matches will be played in the Joyce Center.
#9 Notre Dame (16-1) 30-27-30-30Illinois State (11-7) 24-30-24-23
Kills: ND 58 (Stasiuk 20), ISU 62 (Doornbos 17)Attack Percentage: ND .231 (Stasiuk .349), ISU .141 (McDavid .333)Assists: ND 55 (Tarutis 51), ISU 60 (Lindsey 58)Service Aces-Errors: ND 1-11 (Cooper 1), ISU 4-14 (four players, 1)Digs: ND 74 (Henican 19), ISU 80 (Grubb 23)Blocks: ND 21.5 (Cooper & Brewster 8), ISU 5 (Staehlin 4)Points: ND 80.5 (Stasiuk 22.5), ISU 71 (Doornbos 17.5)Attendance: 1,615