Oct. 2, 2005
MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Sophomore OH Adrianna Stasiuk (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South H.S.) had 14 kills on .355 hitting and 21 digs, as the 10th-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s volleyball team (11-1, 3-0 BIG EAST) earned its fourth consecutive victory by beating new BIG EAST member Marquette (8-7, 2-2) 30-24, 28-30, 30-21, 30-27 Sunday afternoon in the Al McGuire Center in front of a facility-record crowd of 1,074. The Irish will return to action on Wednesday by playing host to intrastate rival Valparaiso (14-3) at 7 p.m. (EST/CDT) in the Joyce Center.
The Notre Dame sophomore led all players in attack percentage and posted a team-high total in digs despite playing outside hitter, instead of libero (where she has also appeared this season). She notched a season high in kills and made just three errors on 31 attempts. Additionally, Stasiuk had a pair of service aces and took part in two blocks. It was the fourth time she has had 20 or more digs this season after having not done that at all in 2004. Sunday’s output was a career high for Stasiuk when not donning the libero jersey.
The Irish had a balanced offensive attack, as senior All-American MB Lauren Brewster (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood H.S.) posted a team-high 16 kills and fellow senior OH Lauren Kelbley (Bascom, Ohio/Hopewell-Loudon H.S.) notched 13. Freshman OH Mallorie Croal (Villa Park, Calif./Mater Dei H.S.) added 11 kills for the Irish, while senior MB Carolyn Cooper (Houston, Texas/Lutheran South Academy) added nine.
Sophomore setter Ashley Tarutis (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos H.S.) picked up 51 assists and led her team to a .241 hitting mark. The highlight came in game three, when the Irish had 24 kills and just two errors for a .458 attack percentage.
Notre Dame again served well, piling up seven service aces. The Irish got three from Tarutis, as well as two each from Stasiuk and senior co-captain Meg Henican (New Orleans, La./Isidore Newman H.S.). Henican, the Irish libero, also had 18 digs.
Cooper, who is the BIG EAST leader in the category, took part in six of Notre Dame’s nine blocks, while Brewster was in on five of them (two solo). The latter player had a team-high 19.5 points.
Through two weeks of BIG EAST action, Notre Dame stands as one of just two unbeatens in conference play, along with #6-ranked and preseason league favorite Louisville. The Irish are 3-0 in BIG EAST action for the 10th time in 11 seasons since becoming a conference member.
Sunday was the first time the ND volleyball team played a match in Milwaukee since 1986. The Irish have now won all eight meetings with Marquette.
The Irish have now won six consecutive four-game matches, a streak that stretches more than a year, back to a defeat at Michigan on Sept. 29, 2004.
#10 Notre Dame (11-1, 3-0) 30-28-30-30Marquette (8-7, 2-2) 24-30-21-27
Kills: ND 66 (Brewster 16), MU 63 (Coughlin 21)Attack Percentage: ND .241 (Stasiuk .355), MU .201 (Helmbrecht .292)Assists: ND 56 (Tarutis 51), MU 61 (Weidner 28)Service Aces-Errors: ND 7-11 (Tarutis 3), MU 2-12 (Mueller 2)Digs: ND 61 (Stasiuk 21), MU 69 (O'Brien 23)Blocks: ND 9 (Cooper 6), MU 7 (Brown 5)Points: ND 82 (Brewster 19.5), MU 72 (Coughlin 21.5)Attendance: 1,074 (Al McGuire Center record)