Sept. 20, 2001
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Notre Dame vs. Syracuse Match Notes
#24 Notre Dame vs. Syracuse, Saturday, Sept. 22, 6 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse series history:
Notre Dame and Syracuse will be meeting for the 10th time … Notre Dame holds an 8-1 advantage in the series including the last eight matches in a row … Kristy Kreher had 18 kills, nine digs and three blocks in the 2000 meeting, while Malinda Goralski added 14 kills and six blocks … Carol Munger led the Orangewomen with 14 kills (see box on page four for the boxscore from last season’s match) … the Irish are 3-0 vs. Syracuse at the Joyce Center … Syracuse has not posted a victory vs. Notre Dame since the first meeting between the two schools in 1981.
A look at the Orangewomen:
Syracuse (5-3) is coming off a four-game victory over Buffalo (30-21, 30-25, 27-30, 30-26) on Wednesday, Sept. 19 … Abby Van Mater led Syracuse with 16 kills, followed by Laura Koster with 15 and Ashley Kimes with 10 … Koster is currently hitting .365 on the season with 112 kills (3.86 per game) and 37 blocks (1.28 per game) … Koster also has earned BIG EAST Rookie of the Week accolades during the first two weeks of action in 2001 … Noreen Carroll is the Orangewomen’s setter this season and she is averaging 10.32 assists per game, 2.07 digs per game and 0.79 blocks per game … Syracuse’s three losses this season are to Kent State, Northeastern and Charlotte … the Orangewomen are out-blocking their opposition this season 75.5 to 55.0.
Goralski leads BIG EAST:
In addition to earning the first BIG EAST Player of the Week award of the season on Sept. 2, senior middle blocker Malinda Goralski ranks in the top five of two statistical categories in the conference rankings. The Missouri City, Texas, native leads all league players in blocks per game with 1.79 (34 total). She is also second in hitting percentage (.381) and plays a major role in Notre Dame’s top team ranking in blocks per game (2.92).
In the latest NCAA statistical rankings, Goralski is ranked 11th in blocks per game (1.79) and 39th in hitting percentage (.381).
The Irish middle is poised to move even farther up the charts after a stellar match against Valparaiso. Goralski posted 15 kills on 21 attempts with no errors for an outstanding .714 hitting percentage.
Fletcher emerges in the middle of the Irish offense:
Sophomore middle blocker Kim Fletcher, who earned BIG EAST All-Rookie Team honors in 2000, is second on the team in kills (64), third in digs (46) and fourth in blocks (16). Her quickness and ability to reach the entire court caught the eye of competing coaches in the 2001 Shamrock Invitational, who played a hand in voting her the Most Outstanding Player of the two-day tournament.
Fletcher has set career marks this season for kills (14) and digs (10) while posting her first career double-double against Idaho in the Shamrock Invitational championship match. Fletcher has posted more than five kills and five digs in every match this season. She currently ranks ninth in the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.319).
Notre Dame in BIG EAST volleyball competition:
Since the Irish joined the BIG EAST Conference in 1995, they have posted an exceptional 64-2 regular-season conference mark. Entering this weekend’s match with Syracuse, Notre Dame has won 33 consecutive conference matches. The two conference losses the Irish suffered were to Connecticut and West Virginia (both on the road) in 1998.
Notre Dame is 36-0 at home in regular-season BIG EAST matches.
Promotions before, during and after the Syracuse match:
The start time for the match with the Orangewomen is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday. Football fans will be able to catch the Irish volleyball team in action after the gridiron contest between Notre Dame and Michigan State in Notre Dame Stadium. Admission to the volleyball match will be free.
It will be “Big Top Night” in the Joyce Center with a circus-like theme throughout the match. Face painting stations, snow cone machines and cotton candy will be available. A youth circus act will perform between games two and three.
The Notre Dame class (freshman, sophomore, junior or senior) with the highest attendance at Saturday’s match will receive a $750 cash prize donated back to their class funds.
Goralski grabs BIG EAST weekly award:
Senior middle blocker Malinda Goralski earned her first BIG EAST Player of the Week award on Monday, Sept. 3, after helping lead the Irish to three straight victories in the Shamrock Invitational.
She recorded 37 kills and 25 blocks during the weekend, including slamming down a career-high 18 kills Friday (Aug. 31) against Southwest Texas State. Goralski, who earned all-tournament honors, also tied a career high with 11 blocks against Idaho in Notre Dame’s 3-1 win against the Vandals. On the weekend, Goralski recorded 3.7 kills and 2.5 blocks per game while hitting .463.
Coaching change:
Robin Davis, most recently an assistant at Northern Arizona, has joined the Irish staff as an assistant. Davis replaces Lindsay Rosenthal and will help the Irish in the day-to-day business of the program, recruiting and on-court teaching.
Davis also has head coaching experience at Biola (Calif.) University. He coached 10 years at Biola, then moved on to Northern Arizona, helping them qualify for the NCAA Tournament in 1999 and 2000 while capturing the Big Sky Conference Co-Championship in 2000. Irish forced to adjust from the comforts of home to life on the road: Notre Dame played 19 matches in the friendly confines of the Joyce Center last season. The Irish had 17 regular-season home matches scheduled and won both matches at the 2000 BIG EAST Volleyball Championship, which was held on campus.
The 2001 schedule calls for at least 16 road matches, a number that could increase if the Irish qualify for the BIG EAST Championship. A key stretch of the Irish schedule will be six consecutive road matches from Oct. 16 through Nov. 4.
Welcome to the BIG EAST:
In addition to facing Pepperdine for the first time ever at the US Bank/Arby’s Tournament in Lincoln, Neb., this weekend, Notre Dame will face Virginia Tech for the first time ever and the first time as a BIG EAST Conference opponent on Sept. 28.
Virginia Tech enters the conference for volleyball competition for the first time in 2001. The Hokies competed as independents last season and compiled a 13-16 record.
Freshman ready to contribute:
Even as the Irish welcome back 10 monogram winners to the 2001 roster, three talented freshman have joined the team and have already seen playing time early in the season. Emily Loomis (Fort Wayne, Ind.) has made a push for playing time after posting a 10-6 jump-reach in a preseason test and displaying solid offensive and defensive skills. Loomis tied for the team lead in kills in the Shamrock Invitational championship match vs. Idaho with 14. She also tied for a team-high with eight kills vs. #15 Pepperdine at the U.S.Bank/Arby’s Tournament in Lincoln, Neb.
OH Leah Nedderman (Grapevine, Texas) and MB Kelly Corbett (Mountain View, Calif.) have both impressed the Irish coaching staff in the preseason and are poised to see significant playing time off the bench. Both Corbett and Nedderman hit their first career kills against Valparaiso on Tuesday.
Strong schedule:
Irish head coach Debbie Brown, who led the team to two key victories over high ranked opponents in 2000 (3-2 come-from-behind victory over #15 BYU and a 3-1 win over #22 Loyola Marymount), has scheduled a number of highly-rated teams this season. Notre Dame will face five top 25 teams in 2001, including #10 Florida in the Gator’s Volleyball Conference Challenge at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex on Nov. 24. The Irish have already faced #1 Nebraska, #7 UCLA and #15 Pepperdine this season at the US Bank/Arby’s Tournament in Lincoln, Neb.
Northern Iowa, who entered the USA Today/AVCA Poll on Sept. 9, will meet the Irish on Tuesday, Oct. 16, in the Quad Cities.
Career-bests:
A number of Irish players posted career-bests during Shamrock Invitational and US Bank/Arby’s Tournament over the first two weekends of the season. Malinda Goralski tied her career high in both kills (18) and blocks (11) vs. Southwest Texas and Idaho, respectively. Kim Fletcher posted two career-bests while achieving her first career double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs against Idaho and while freshman Emily Loomis also posted 14 kills vs. the Vandals, for a personal-best total of her young career.
Junior DS Janie Alderete set a new career mark with 19 digs against #15 Pepperdine on Sept. 9. Alderete followed up her career-high digs effort with 13 against Valparaiso on Tuesday.
Notre Dame postpones four matches due to national developments last week:
Due to the tragedies in New York, Pennsylvania and Northern Virginia last week, Notre Dame postponed its volleyball matches with Michigan (Sept. 12), Indiana State (Sept. 14), Tulane (Sept. 14) and Purdue (Sept. 15).
Said University of Notre Dame director of athletics Kevin White: “We believe the horrific developments (last) Tuesday warrant a national period of bereavement and a moratorium as far as athletics are concerned. Consistent with the BIG EAST decision not to compete in any sports, we have postponed all athletic events through the weekend.”
No make up dates have been arranged as of yet. The BIG EAST Conference did not compete in any sports last week, therefore no Player of the Week announcements will be available on Sept. 17.
The Irish will wear an embroidered American flag on their uniform for the rest of the season in remembrance of the victims from the Sept. 11 attacks.
Collegiate volleyball implements three new rules:
The National Association for Girls and Women in Sports (NAGWS), the official rules-making body for women’s collegiate volleyball, has announced three modifications that will directly affect the way the game is played in 2001.
The NAGWS has introduced rally scoring and each play will result in a point being scored. Each match will be a best-of-five with games one through four being played to 30 points. The fifth and deciding game (if necessary) will be to 15 points. All games need to be won by two points.
Another rule change will affect the serve. First, players will not be allowed a second toss for service and the let serve will be allowed. Should a served ball touch the net, it will be a legal, live ball as long as it continues its path to the opponents court.
The third rule change is optional and can be implemented by the coaches before the match. Referred to as ‘international pursuit’, the rule allows for a player to retrieve a ball (on second contact) that has crossed the plane of the net to the opponents free space, provided that player does not touch the opponents court and send the ball back to their court, over or outside the antennas, for an opportunity for the third contact.