Nov. 7, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Last weekend’s split with Syracuse and Marquette left the Notre Dame volleyball team with a 12-12 overall record as the Irish head into weekend action at Rutgers. Notre Dame will face the Scarlet Knights at College Avenue Gym in Piscataway, N.J., at 2 p.m. (ET) this Sunday to wrap up the road portion of the 2008 BIG EAST Conference schedule.
The Irish will return to the Joyce Center for home dates with St. John’s (Nov. 14) and Connecticut (Nov. 16) to close the regular season.
“We’re looking forward to this weekend and I think it’s been a good week for us to have just one match to prepare for,” Irish head coach Debbie Brown said. “We’ve been able to look at the tapes from this previous weekend and find some areas in which we know we can be a lot more efficient. The team is working on being really efficient and clean on our side of the net while reducing our unforced errors and getting into a better rhythm. Anytime we drop a match the players and coaches are eager to get back on the court again. It will be nice to get back to doing the things we do well and see how much we’ve improved over the week.”
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(12-12 overall / 7-4 BIG EAST)
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
(2-18 overall / 1-9 BIG EAST)
Nov. 9 • 2 p.m. (ET)
College Avenue Gymnasium
Live stats: UND.com
Bump, Set, Spike …
• With a 7-4 BIG EAST Conference record the Irish have now won at least seven contests in league play for the 13th consecutive season … Notre Dame was victorious in nine BIG EAST matches in 1998, 2004 and 2007 … the most wins came in 2005 (13-1) as the Irish went on to post a 30-4 overall record en route to an appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16.
• Two players on the Irish roster are averaging over 3.00 kills/set through the last five matches … Serinity Phillips has totaled 70 kills (3.18/set) with Christina Kaelin clicking with 62 kills (3.10/set) … Phillips has totaled 66 digs (3.00/set), just ahead of Kristen Dealy’s 65 digs (2.95).
• After posting a 4-4 record in October the Irish are now 205-115 (.674) in the year’s tenth month … the Irish played just two home matches in October for the second consecutive season after playing five in 2005 and 2006 … Notre Dame’s Oct. 16 win at DePaul was the 100th road win in October.
Series History …
• The schools will go to battle for the 14th consecutive season and the 16th time overall … Notre Dame has won each of the last 15 meetings, taking 45 of the 46 sets … the Irish are 6-0 on Rutgers’ home court … the teams met once prior to the Irish joining the BIG EAST in 1995, a 3-0 Notre Dame win in 1986 at the Hackerman Showcase in Houston, Texas … the Irish held Rutgers to only eight points in the contest (15-2, 15-5, 15-1) … Notre Dame and Rutgers met once in the postseason when the Irish claimed the 2000 BIG EAST Championship at the Joyce Center … in that match, Notre Dame’s Denise Boylan had 62 assists, the most ever for an Irish player in a three-set match … the lone Scarlet Knight set victory came in 1998 at the Joyce Center, when Rutgers won the third game 17-15 (after dropping the second, 15-1) … a pair of Irish players managed to hit over .500 in a win over Rutgers in the 2007 duel, which was also Notre Dame’s inaugural Dig for the Cure match … Justine Stremick finished with a .706 clip while Adrianna Stasiuk blitzed the Scarlet Knights with a .550 mark to lead Notre Dame in its 3-0 win … Stasiuk’s season-high average came with 12 kills and 10 digs … contributing to the team’s .433 attack percentage – its best of the season and highest since a .451 average against USF in 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 sets and were able to hold Rutgers under .100 in each frame for a .052 percentage in the match.
Last Time Out …
Playing in its second five-set match in as many days, Notre Dame stumbled in a 3-2 (28-26, 22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-12) matchup versus BIG EAST Conference foe Marquette … junior outside hitter Serinity Phillips just missed out on notching Notre Dame’s first triple-double since 2004, finishing with 25 kills on a .375 average, 10 digs and a career-high nine blocks … the match marked the first time Notre Dame played in consecutive five-set contests against a conference opponent since joining the BIG EAST in 1995 … junior Christina Kaelin contributed 15 kills and sophomore Kellie Sciacca finished with 12 … Sciacca also added nine blocks with junior Megan Fesl coming off the bench to add five stuffs – two solo – and 13 digs … the Golden Eagles received 19 kills from Ashlee Fisher and 16 more from Rabbecka Gonyo … Gonyo and Tiara Russell each had nine blocks.
Recognizing Rutgers …
The Scarlet Knights were relatively successful this past weekend and snapped a 14-match losing skid with a home win versus West Virginia (Nov. 2) … Rutgers dropped its first nine BIG EAST contests and failed to win a single set in any of those matchups … the 3-1 win over the Mountaineers – highlighted by freshman Hannah Curtis’ 20 kills – came after the Scarlet Knights won their first set of the league slate against Pittsburgh (Nov. 1) … Caitlin Saxton has a team-high 188 kills and Jamie Godfrey averages 3.12 digs/set … middle blocker Sophie Cook and Irish middle blocker Kellie Sciacca played club ball together for the Colorado Juniors.
Stremick Stays Sharp In Classroom …
For the third time in as many seasons senior Justine Stremick was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V First Team (Nov. 6) … Stremick was a second-team choice in 2007 and a third-team selection as a sophomore in 2006 … the Langdon, N.D., native boasts a 3.79 cumulative grade-point average as a math and life science major and was the only BIG EAST Conference player to collect first-team honors this season … she plans on attending medical school next fall … after surgically repairing her anterior cruciate ligament in April, Stremick returned to the court one month ahead of schedule with the help of team trainer Chantal Porter … Stremick’s twin sister and Army outside hitter, Briana, also notched first-team honors.
Phillips Fills Up Stat Line …
Serinity Phillips narrowly missed out on notching Notre Dame’s first triple-double since 2004, finishing with 25 kills on a .375 average, 10 digs and a career-high nine blocks against Marquette (Nov. 2) … Phillips’ kill total was her best of the season and the most since she pounded Villanova 26 times in 2007 … she had a double-double with 16 kills and 13 digs against Syracuse (Nov. 1) with a .375 clip … Phillips averaged 4.10 kills/set and cleanly fielded 33 serves for a perfect average over the weekend … she was named to the league’s weekly honor roll on Nov. 3 … Notre Dame’s last triple-double came in 2004 against Illinois State … in the 3-2 win, Lauren Brewster (17 kills, 13 digs, 11 blocks) and Adrianna Stasiuk (14 kills, 11 digs, 11 blocks) each accomplished the feat … there have been 21 triple-doubles in program history, four of which were recorded by Zanette Bennett from 1987-88 … Phillips accounted for 30.5 of Notre Dame’s 88.0 points in the match … it was the highest point total for any player since 2005 when Lauren Kelbley (Loyola-Chicago) and Lauren Brewster (Arizona State) finished with 31.0 points … Kelbley’s total came during a three-set match … Phillips had a pair of double-doubles and narrowly missed out on a third from Oct. 21-Oct. 26 … she finished with 11 kills and 10 digs at Long Beach (Oct. 21) … also notched 11 kills and a career-high 22 digs at Villanova (Oct. 25) … the 22 digs tied her for team-high honors on the season and the most of any outside hitter … in a three-set match at Seton Hall (Oct. 26), Phillips wrapped up the match with seven kills with only one error for a .316 average, 11 digs and two solo blocks
Juicing the Orange …
Needing five sets to secure a win over Syracuse (Nov. 1) for the first time since 1990, Notre Dame prevailed over the Orange with a 3-2 victory … nonetheless, the home team posted a .377 hitting percentage to set a school record for a five-set match … the previous Notre Dame record for hitting percentage in a five-set match was .346, set versus San Francisco in 1991 … it was the first five-set win of the season in four tries and just the second five-period contest between Notre Dame and Syracuse in the 17-match series history … five Irish players finished with at least 10 kills for the first time since a 2007 date at Pittsburgh … traffic was directed by setter Jamel Nicholas and her career-high 68 assists.
Marked By Marquette …
Playing in its second five-set match in as many days, Notre Dame stumbled in a 3-2 matchup versus Marquette (Nov. 2) … the match marked the first time Notre Dame played in consecutive five-set contests against a conference opponent since joining the BIG EAST in 1995.
She’s a Show Stopper …
Senior Justine Stremick currently has 402 career blocks (81 solo, 321 block assists) … she is the 11th player in program history to record at least 400 stuffs and tied for 10th all-time … she sits at the No. 10 spot with Malinda Goralski (1998-01) … current Irish volunteer assistant coach Emily Loomis (2001-04) is ninth all-time with 409 blocks.
The Offensive Engineer …
Setter Jamel Nicholas has had at least 20 assists in each of Notre Dame’s matches this season with the Irish switching between a 5-1 and 6-2 offensive attack … Nicholas had a career-high 68 assists against Syracuse (Nov. 1) … it was the first time an Irish player had 60+ assists since Ashley Tarutis registered 63 in a three-set win over USF in 2007 … Nicholas currently ranks eighth on the school’s all-time assists list with 1,661 … she reached a noteworthy milestone at the Idaho Volleyball Classic (Sept. 5-6) by surpassing the 1,000-assist plateau … Nicholas shared time with Tarutis during her first two seasons with the Fighting Irish and now mentors freshman setter Beth Wildermuth.
Catch Us If You Can …
The Irish have posted several impressive scoring streaks this season, most recently a 9-0 run during the fourth set of a five-frame loss at Villanova (Oct. 25) … the team boasted a 9-0 run at Georgetown (Sept. 28) and went on 10-0 jaunt against West Virginia (Oct. 11) … Notre Dame also posted 10 unanswered points in a home win over Nevada (Aug. 30), which covered the first and second sets … in 2007, the Irish scored on 12 consecutive rallies versus DePaul (Oct. 2007).
The Real Deal(y) …
Freshman Kristen Dealy registered four double-doubles from Oct. 21-Nov 1, bringing her team-high total to eight … Dealy had 16 kills on a .286 average with 11 digs at Long Beach (Oct. 21) and added a pair of assists and six blocks – four of which were solo – versus the 49ers … she followed that with 15 kills, 15 digs and three aces with four blocks at Villanova (Oct. 25) … 10 of those digs came in the first set alone … Dealy’s four consecutive matches with a double-double tied her for sixth (with four others) on the all-time list … she is the first since Adrianna Stasiuk did so in 2005 … it is longest streak ever by a freshman.
Are We There Yet?
Fall break may have meant classes were out of session at Notre Dame, but volleyball was in full swing … Notre Dame covered over 6,000 miles, caught six flights and hit ground in five states over the course of one week with matches at Long Beach (Oct. 21), Villanova (Oct. 25) and Seton Hall (Oct. 26) … Notre Dame went 1-2 on the road trip.
Irish Reach 600 …
Eight team aces and 13 kills by freshman Kristen Dealy powered Notre Dame to win No. 600 in program history against West Virginia (Oct. 11) at the Joyce Center … following the win the Irish sported a 600-343 (.636) overall record in their 29th season of varsity action.
Take a Bow …
Christina Kaelin was part of the BIG EAST Conference’s honor roll on Oct. 6 and again on Oct. 13 … Kaelin had 11 kills with only one error for a .500 clip to lead an Irish team that hit .370 in an Oct. 11 contest with WVU … the Irish received 21 kills from Kaelin in the team’s next match versus Pittsburgh (Oct. 12) … that performance put her in a four-way tie for 10th place on Notre Dame’s career list for matches with 20+ kills (6) … she had 20 against Eastern Washington earlier this season … she averaged 4.57 kills/set over the two-match stretch … she also led the Irish in kills and hitting percentage in each of the team’s two matches from Oct. 4-5 … Kaelin fired in 14 kills on a .344 average during her homecoming match against the Cardinals … the Louisville native also added one dig and one block versus the Cardinals … she finished with a match-high 17 kills on a .467 average at Cincinnati with one ace and five digs in the four-set affair … she totaled 18.0 points in the Irish loss … the junior averaged 4.43 kills/set on the weekend with a .403 average.
Sciacca Strikes Again …
Sophomore middle blocker Kellie Sciacca was named the league’s top player on Sept. 29 for her performances during Irish wins at USF (Sept. 26) and Georgetown (Sept. 28) … Sciacca had 20 kills in her first BIG EAST match of the season while posting a .643 average against USF … she recorded 16 kills versus the Bulls before recording an error and finished with only two faults on 28 attempts … her hitting percentage in the contest was the fourth highest ever in school history for a four-set match … she followed that performance with nine kills on 15 swings with three errors for a .400 average at Georgetown … Sciacca also added an ace and one solo block against the Hoyas … for the weekend, she averaged 4.14 kills/set with a .588 hitting clip … the Monument, Colo., native was part of the league’s honor roll on Sept. 1 … the BIG EAST named Sciacca its Freshman of the Week three times in 2007 – the most among league rookies – as she was a part of the league’s honor roll on four occasions … Sciacca was also the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s (AVCA) Northeast Region Freshman of the Year last season.
Going Solo …
Senior middle blocker Justine Stremick made her presence felt after seeing action for the first time this season during her debut at the Diet Coke Classic (Sept. 12-14) … Stremick, who missed the first six matches of the season while nursing an injured knee, had eight blocks against No. 16 Cal Poly (Sept. 12) and seven kills versus No. 4 California (Sept. 13).
The Bigger They Are …
It had been a while since Notre Dame faced three consecutive ranked opponents before doing so at the Diet Coke Classic (No. 16 Cal Poly, No. 4 California, No. 11 Minnesota) … the last time Notre Dame challenged ranked foes in consecutive matches was in 2001 when they went to battle with No. 7 UCLA, No. 1 Nebraska and No. 15 Pepperdine at the U.S. Bank / Arby’s Tournament in Lincoln, Neb. … Notre Dame dropped each of the three matches on both occasions.
Pocket Aces …
Notre Dame served a season-high eight aces against Washington State (Sept. 6), but raised the bar one week later against No. 4 California (Sept. 13) with 10 aces … Serinity Phillips, Jamel Nicholas, Tara Enzweiler and Beth Wildermuth each had two for the Fighting Irish against Washington State … Wildermuth added a career-high four aces against California.
On Top of the Summit …
In 29 seasons of varsity volleyball, Notre Dame earned just its first win over a Summit League opponent with a 3-0 sweep of IPFW (Aug. 29) … the league changed its name from the Mid-Continent Conference to Summit in June 2007 … before the season-opening win over the Mastodons the Irish were 26-8 all-time against the conference and 14-3 under head coach Debbie Brown.
It’s Good To Be Home …
Head coach Debbie Brown earned her 200th home victory at Notre Dame with a 3-1 win against Nevada (Aug. 30) … the win moved Brown to 200-38 (.843) within the walls of the Joyce Center … last season she picked up her 400th overall win as the Irish skipper.
Give Silva the Shovel …
Freshman libero Frenchy Silva averaged 4.27 digs/set in four matches during the Shamrock Invitational (Aug. 29-31) … that clip ranked fourth in the BIG EAST Conference and the best among league rookies … Silva scooped 21 shots against Valparaiso (Aug. 31), the first 20-dig effort by an Irish player since Adrianna Stasiuk posted an identical total at Connecticut (Oct. 27) in 2007.
Brown Honored By Former Team …
Head coach Debbie Brown was honored on Sept. 4 during the University of Southern California’s match versus Oklahoma as part of the program’s All-Time Great Night … Brown, a former Trojan standout, was joined during the ceremony with longtime friend and teammate Sue Woodstra … permanent banners with Woodstra and Brown’s name and numbers are now displayed in the Galen Center … after graduating from El Segundo High School (Calif.), Brown captained the University of Southern California to a 72-1 two-year record and national titles in both 1976 and 1977, including a 38-0 run in 1977 that, until 1998, was the only unbeaten season in Division I women’s volleyball history … her 1977 squad is still considered one of the all-time greatest at any level of volleyball … Brown (then Debbie Landreth) twice was named a collegiate All-American and received the Mikasa Award as the “nation’s best all-around player” in 1976 and 1977 … the 5-8 outside hitter left USC prior to her junior year, accepting an invitation to train full-time with the U.S. national team … she co-captained the team to a fifth-place finish at the 1978 World Championships … a year later, she and her teammates – including Debbie Green, Flo Hyman, Rita Crockett and Woodstra – qualified for the Olympics in Moscow and were considered serious medal contenders before the United States elected to boycott the games.
Early Experience …
Freshmen Kristen Dealy and Frenchy Silva each cracked the starting lineups in their collegiate debut versus IPFW (Aug. 31) … last season, first-year players Kellie Sciacca and Angela Puente started in the season opener … setter Beth Wildermuth also saw significant action on the court in the season’s first weekend of play … Silva and Dealy earned starting nods in each of Notre Dame’s three matches … Dealy led the Irish with 31 kills (2.82 kills/set) while Silva averaged 4.27 digs/set … not to be outdone, Wildermuth split time with starting setter Jamel Nicholas and posted 3.73 assists/set.
Enzweiler Energizes Irish …
Junior middle blocker Tara Enzweiler set career-high marks in virtually every statistical category during the Shamrock Invitational (Aug. 29-31) … Enzweiler logged a pair of starts and matched or exceeded single-match personal bests in kills (5), attempts (13), aces (2), solo blocks (1), block assists (7), total blocks (8) and points (8.5).
Kaelin Christens Court …
Junior outside hitter Christina Kaelin returned from an injury that sidelined her for the duration of the 2007 campaign with three starts at the Shamrock Invitational (Aug. 29-31) … her weekend was highlighted by 13 kills for a .480 clip versus Valparaiso (Aug. 31) … Kaelin was one of Notre Dame’s top offensive threats throughout her freshman campaign.
Shamrock Stars …
Junior outside hitter Serinity Phillips and sophomore middle blocker Kellie Sciacca were each named to the Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament squad … Phillips had 13 kills and 12 digs in the season opener against IPFW (Aug. 29) and scooped at least 10 digs in each of the invite’s three matches … Sciacca secured a double-double – the second of her career – against Nevada (Aug. 30) with a 14-kill, 10-block effort.
BIG EAST Honors Sciacca …
Sophomore middle blocker Kellie Sciacca was selected to the league’s weekly honor roll (Sept. 1) … Sciacca totaled 30 kills (2.73/set) on a .359 average through three matches at the Shamrock Invitational (Aug. 29-31) … she led Notre Dame with 20 blocks over the course of three matches (1.82 blocks/set) and also registered one ace … Sciacca had 14 kills on a .464 average against Nevada (Aug. 30) along with 10 blocks for a double-double … she had seven blocks against Valparaiso (Aug. 31) … she finished with nine kills on 18 swings versus IPFW (Aug. 29).
–ND–