Oct. 11, 2007
Game Notes
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The University of Notre Dame volleyball team takes to the road for two conference matches this weekend. The battalion is fresh off a 3-0 home sweep of Rutgers last Saturday, and hopes to even its overall record while picking up a fourth conference win Friday (Oct. 12) at Marquette. Syracuse will be waiting for the Irish two days later.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(7-8 overall, 3-2 BIG EAST)
Marquette Golden Eagles
(6-8 overall, 3-2 BIG EAST)
Friday, Oct. 12 2007 • 7:00 p.m. (CT)
Al McGuire Center • Milwaukee, Wis.
Series vs. Marquette: Notre Dame leads 9-0
Series Streak: Notre Dame – won 9
Last Meeting: Oct. 6, 2006 – Notre Dame, 3-1
Syracuse Orange
(11-9 overall, 2-3 BIG EAST)
Sunday, Oct. 14 2007 • 2:00 p.m.
Manley Fieldhouse • Syracuse, N.Y.
Series vs. Syracuse: Notre Dame leads 14-1
Series Streak: Notre Dame – won 14
Last Meeting: Oct. 8, 2006 – Notre Dame, 3-0
Last Time Out … A pair of players managed to hit over .500 in an Irish win over Rutgers at the Joyce Center … junior Justine Stremick finished with a .706 clip while senior Adrianna Stasiuk blitzed the Scarlet Knights with a .550 mark to lead Notre Dame in its 3-0 (30-16, 30-18, 30-20) win … in fact, the last time an Irish (7-8 overall, 3-2 BIG EAST) player hit over .700 in a match was when Stremick checked in with a .750 average in a 3-0 win over South Florida last season … against Rutgers (3-11 overall, 1-4 BIG EAST), she converted 13 of 17 swings with one error and had six blocks to lead the Irish defense … Stasiuk’s season-high average came with 12 kills and 10 digs, with sophomore Serinity Phillips and freshman Kellie Sciacca each adding eight successful attacks … “offensively, Justine showed us what she can on a regular basis,” said head coach Debbie Brown … “but you have to give credit to the passers and setters on the floor who did a great job of finding her to get those good shots” … contributing to the team’s .433 attack percentage – its best of the season and highest since a .451 average against South Florida on Oct. 21, 2005 – were setters Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas, who combined for 40 assists … the Irish never hit less than .300 in any of the three games, yet were able to hold Rutgers under .100 in each frame for a .052 percentage in the match … sophomore Megan Fesl led off the match with a kill from Sciacca’s set, then Sciacca got hot with three kills over a five-point stretch … the early offensive output was a sign of things to come, as Notre Dame finished with a .560 average in the game … Stremick added a huge kill on the slide via Tarutis’ set to give Notre Dame a 9-4 lead, and Nicholas checked into the game to deliver the first of her two aces on the afternoon … Phillips and Stremick teamed for a block (12-5), then Stremick got some help from sophomore Tara Enzweiler on another rejection to make the count 13-5 … Rutgers orchestrated a 5-1 run but ND went on to blow the game open when the Scarlet Knight defense could not handle Stasiuk’s fireball (20-12) and a shotgun up the gut (21-14) … Enzweiler found a gap with a kill at 25-15, and followed with a second point one play later … freshman Stephanie Slatt and Sciacca joined forces for a block to close game one … Rutgers’ early 1-0 lead in the second game went to the wayside when Phillips and Sciacca registered back-to-back kills … Tarutis put ND ahead for good with a dump (4-3), which started a 7-0 Irish scoring streak … sophomore Kim Kristoff, who was also celebrating her 20th birthday, added a kill to put the home team up by 10 (25-15) … Stasiuk had eight kills on 12 attempts in the final frame, as ND ended the match with a .385 attack percentage in the last stanza … Rutgers came within two points (12-10), but the Irish ran off with an 8-0 streak late in the game to wrap up their third conference win of the year.
History 101 …Notre Dame has been a member of three conferences over the history of its volleyball program, and has handed Marquette a league loss in each of the three … the teams played as North Star Conference members from 1985-87 and were Midwestern Collegiate Conference foes for one season (1990) before Marquette joined the BIG EAST in 2004 … the schools first met in 1985 in Dayton, Ohio, with the Irish prevailing in three games … the Irish and Golden Eagles will meet for the third time since 1997 and 10th time overall … Notre Dame holds a perfect 9-0 mark over Marquette with a 27-3 advantage in game victories … 2002 graduate Marcie Bomhack (Waukesha, Catholic Memorial HS, Milwaukee Sting VBC) – now the head coach at Loyola (Ill.) – remains the only Wisconsin native to ever play for the Irish … against the Golden Eagles on Oct. 3, 1986, Notre Dame finished with a .539 hitting percentage (52 kills, 4 errors, 89 attempts), which still stands as the highest mark in program history in any length match … Adrianna Stasiuk and Danielle Herndon each tallied 20+ digs, while Jamel Nicholas and Ashley Tarutis each handed out 20+ assists during Notre Dame’s 2006 victory … Syracuse downed Notre Dame, 3-1, in the two program’s first-ever meeting in 1981, but its been all Irish since then … Notre Dame has won the last 14 contests as the two teams will meet for the 13th consecutive season and 16th time overall in 2007 … the lone five-game affair between the schools came in the 1990 Rhode Island Invitational in Providence, with ND coming out on top, 16-14, for its first-ever win over SU … ND leads 43-7 in games won, including 39-2 in the BIG EAST era … the Irish have notched five consecutive 3-0 wins over the Orange … Angie Harris had nine aces in the first BIG EAST contest between the teams (Oct. 20, 1995), a record that still stands despite accomplishing the feat in just three games … the Irish made just one service error in the 1996 matchup, which is tied for the lowest total in a match … the Irish won by 37 points in 2001 at the Joyce Center, the third-largest margin of victory for Notre Dame under the 30-point format … ND has won all five previous matches at the Joyce Center and the only game that went more than the necessary three games was a four-game contest on Oct. 31, 1998 … former Notre Dame libero Meg Henican totaled the school’s second highest dig total, 26, in a three-game match against Syracuse on Sept. 30, 2005 … New York has produced five Irish volleyball players, making it one of just six states to do so.
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.”
Brown to Win … Debbie Brown is now one win shy of No. 400 as Notre Dame’s head skipper … the Irish head coach notched her 500th career win during the 2006 campaign with a 3-0 victory at Seton Hall … entering the 2007 season, her 509 all-time win total ranked 27th in that category among active coaches … in fact, only two active coaches have more wins in as many seasons … Brown is in her 23rd season as a head coach.
Double Play … Senior Adrianna Stasiuk had 12 kills and 10 digs against Rutgers for her 11th double-double of the season … Jaimie Lee, Jenny Birkner, Christy Peters, and Zanette Bennette are all tied for ninth-place on the single-season double-double list with 13.
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 clip tied her for the 12th-best hitting percentage by a player in program history … also against the Scarlet Knights, 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.
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 Championship.
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 198 total kills and 3.38/game.
Sciacca Tha Blocka … Freshman Kellie Sciacca had 10 blocks vs. No. 11 California (Sept. 15) but topped that personal-best with 11 against Villanova … all were assisted … the Irish are second among conference teams in blocks/game with 3.95 during league play … Louisville leads all with 3.83 … Sciacca is fourth on the list of individuals with 1.84 blocks/game against league foes.
Just-ine Time …Junior Justine Stremick is fifth among the stop charts in conference play with 1.74 blocks/game … Stremick had four solo stops against Villanova and totaled 10 to record her first double-digit block contest of the season.
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 … the senior leads the Irish this season with 583 helpers (9.56/game), and has 4,166 for her career.
The South Bend 500 … Five Irish players have now recorded at least 100 kills this season … Serinity Phillips (167), Megan Fesl (161), Adrianna Stasiuk (152), Kellie Sciacca (123) and Justine Stremick (106) have all joined the century club.
Line Fusion … A pair of shifts in the Irish starting lineup this past weekend by head coach Debbie Brown 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 (1), and Angela Puente (3) 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.
Rolling In the Conference Honors … Middle blocker Kellie Sciacca was voted the league’s Freshman of the Week (9/17) 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 … Sciacca is currently second among Irish players with 1.36 blocks/game and first in hitting percentage (.323).
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.
Alive In Five … Splitting five-game matches against No. 11 California and No. 22 Santa Clara gave the Irish a 3-2 record in extra-inning contests at that point in the season … the consecutive tilts with Cal and Santa Clara 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.
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).
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.
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.
Block Party … Notre Dame totaled a (then) 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 made it the first 20+ block match for Notre Dame since a Sept. 2 date with Idaho in 2006 … 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 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.
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.
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).
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 club team, Triangle … 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.
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 (411 of 411) 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.
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.
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 … Tarutis had 45 assists with Nicholas adding 21 in the BIG EAST opener at Pittsburgh … both handed out 20+ vs. Villanova.
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, No. 9 USC won the second match, 3-0 … No. 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 No. 10 Arizona, 3-1, before losing to host Pepperdine, who was ranked fifth-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 No. 4 Nebraska at the Joyce Center.
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 thirteen 10+ digs 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 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 … 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–