Sept. 9, 2001
The University of Notre Dame volleyball team lost its third consecutive match of the weekend at the US Bank/Arby’s Tournament in Lincoln, Neb., to #15 Pepperdine in three games (18-30, 27-30, 23-30) on Sunday afternoon. The Irish are now 3-3 on the season after suffering three losses over the weekend to higher-ranked teams (#7 UCLA, #1 Nebraska and today’s match).
Pepperdine seized control of game one with five-straight kills to push an 11-9 advantage to 16-9. The Wave’s first service error of the match finally ended the point streak and Notre Dame rebounded with two kills from Marcie Bomhack and consecutive aces from Kristen Kinder to cut the lead to three points (18-15).
The Waves would compile another scoring streak to nail down a game-one victory. Six consecutive kills and two Irish attack errors would provide Pepperdine an insurmountable 28-18 advantage. Only another service error broke the Waves scoring streak, but the Irish committed their fourth service error of the game to give control of the ball back to Pepperdine. A bad set by the Irish after receiving the next serve would end game one and give Pepperdine a 1-0 advantage in the match. The Waves wrapped up game one with a sparkling .341 hitting percentage while the Irish offense would post just a .162 mark.
Both teams would battle back and forth in game two as the Irish attempted to get back in the match. Notre Dame and Pepperdine would both enjoy leads during the contest, but with the score knotted at 16-16, the Waves would compile one of their trademark kill strings. Four consecutive kills and an Irish attack error provided a 21-17 cushion that Notre Dame would be unable to overcome. Three kills each by Malinda Goralski and Kim Fletcher would keep the Irish in contention for the rally, but Wave middle blocker Katie Wilkins but the game away with four kills to give her team a 2-0 advantage in the match.
Pepperdine kicked its offense into an even higher gear in game three. Katie Wilkins (16 kills), Brie Harris (14 kills) and Lyndsey Hache (12 kills) proved too tough an offensive combination for the Irish to overcome. Notre Dame would keep close with the score tied at 13-13, but an Irish scoring drought and Pepperdine’s hot hitting would put the game and the match out of Notre Dame’s reach. Wilkins would score four kills in the final stretch of game three and seal the match and game victory for the Waves.
Three Irish players posted eight kills to lead the Irish offense (Kristy Kreher, Emily Loomis and Malinda Goralski), while sophomore Janie Alderete led the team defensive effort with a career-high 19 digs.
Notre Dame is back in action on Wednesday at the Joyce Center against Michigan at 7 p.m.