Nov. 22, 2008
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Three straight set wins made up for an opening period setback as the Notre Dame volleyball team upended top-seed St. John’s in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Conference Championship on Saturday. The 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 27-25) win at Fitzgerald Field House was the third consecutive for the fifth-seeded Irish, who now advance to the final match of the BIG EAST tournament for the 13th time overall. Notre Dame seeks its 10th tournament title since joining the league in 1995, the latest coming in 2006.
The Irish (16-13) neutralized a 3-2 regular-season loss to St. John’s (26-6) on Nov. 14 and secured the program’s 18th consecutive winning season. Notre Dame has at least two matches remaining on the schedule with Sunday’s nationally-televised (ESPNU) contest versus third-seeded Louisville at 3 p.m. (ET), a Nov. 28 home match versus Xavier – and now a potential berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Notre Dame juiced the scoring column with three players reaching double-digit kill status as the team hit .349. Junior setter Jamel Nicholas dished out 59 assists and classmate Christina Kaelin recorded her third 20+ kill performance of the season with 21 knocks. Kaelin, who had just seven kills on a .048 clip in Friday’s 3-0 win over Connecticut, bruised St. John’s with a .474 average. The output tied her for ninth on Notre Dame’s all-time 20+ kills list, as her total of seven evens her with current Irish volunteer assistant coach Emily Loomis.
Senior Justine Stremick was a force with 14 kills (.435) and four blocks while freshman Kristen Dealy had a tremendous all-around outing with 14 kills and 17 digs. Sophomore Kellie Sciacca had nine kills and two aces.
Valeria Kovaleva had 16 kills and 10 digs to lead St. John’s.
The first Irish lead of the match came on a Red Storm hitting error when setter Wioleta Leszczynksa sailed an attempt. Sciacca struck an ace (3-1) and Dealy delivered a strike from the left side (5-2) but the offense hit a bump as St. John’s took a 6-5 lead. Nicholas’ dump found the back corner (6-6) and Kaelin dropped consecutive kills (9-9) before St. John’s ran off to post its largest lead at 13-9. Stremick left a Red Storm defender helpless with one of her four kills in the set (14-15) and a Dealy solo block (15-15) came prior to St. John’s scoring on the next three plays. Stremick had a kill and a solo block (18-18) as the Irish regained the lead when a Red Storm attack flew past the line. Crossing the court for a kill was Kaelin, giving the Irish a 21-20 edge that was wiped out by another St. John’s three-point swing. Kaelin’s sixth kill (22-23) and Dealy’s smack from downtown (23-24) kept the Irish hopes alive, albeit briefly, as one of 13 Irish service errors in the match gave the Red Storm the win.
Four ties early in set two turned into a 5-4 Irish lead on Dealy’s tip. The fifth Irish swing on the ensuing rally found ground off the arm of Stremick (6-4), though the Red Storm tied the score at 6-6. Sciacca found an opening (9-8) and Kaelin put together two more kills to force a Red Storm timeout at 11-8. Again, the Red Storm scored the next three to get right back into the mix and went on to take a 15-13 lead. Junior Serinity Phillips, who had seven kills and seven digs, aced the Red Storm (15-15) and Dealy put the Irish ahead with a kill (16-15). Stremick’s kill off the block capped a 5-0 Notre Dame run (18-15). St. John’s came within one, 18-17, with Notre Dame scoring the next two. Kaelin hit into the triple block (20-17) and teamed with Stremick for a rejection at 21-17. Kaelin’s 12th kill of the match came at 24-19 and Sciacca laid the final brick to knot things at 1-1.
The Irish recovered from a .282 hitting average in set one with a .368 set-two clip. Kaelin had 12 kills on 19 tries with only one error (.579) through the first two sets
Notre Dame took the first two points coming out of intermission and Kaelin converted her first swing of the set at 3-1. A Red Storm error gave Notre Dame a four-point advantage (7-3) but the Irish faulted a pair of times to make it 8-5. Dealy got some help from the tape for a kill to double the score, 10-5. Sciacca’s floater (13-9) came soon before Nicholas’ ace (16-10). The Red Storm came within three at 21-18 and 22-19. Nicholas went over on the second ball (23-19) en route to the Irish win as Notre Dame hit .433 in the frame. Stremick finished a perfect 5-for-5 from the field.
Kaelin started the fourth period with a kill and Dealy secured her team-high 11th double-double of the season with a shot at 3-3. Ahead 6-5, St. John’s scored the next two and Stremick gave Notre Dame the lead again at 8-7. St. John’s stormed to a 20-15 lead and seemed to have the set on lockdown. The Irish closed within three, 17-20, receiving help from Kaelin with a kill at 19-21. Sciacca’s touch shot (20-21) kept the Irish in the hunt as the Red Storm swung for an error at 22-22. Phillips stepped up and made a game-changing solo block to give Notre Dame its first match point (24-23). Though the Irish did not convert on the first try, Dealy’s back-to-back kills sealed the win when it mattered most.
–ND–