Oct. 18, 2007
Game Notes
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After splitting a pair of BIG EAST Conference road matches last week, the Notre Dame volleyball team returns home for a battle with DePaul on Friday afternoon at the Joyce Center. Irish head coach Debbie Brown snagged her 400th win since taking over the Notre Dame program 17 seasons ago by downing Syracuse this past Sunday, and her battalion will have just enough time to let the laundry dry as they hit the road next week for contests at LSU (Oct. 23), Connecticut (Oct. 27), and St. John’s (Oct. 28).
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
(8-9 overall, 4-3 BIG EAST)
DePaul Blue Demons
(5-15 overall, 1-6 BIG EAST)
Friday, Oct. 19 2007 • 4:00 p.m.
Joyce Center • Notre Dame, Ind.
Series vs. DePaul: Notre Dame leads 8-4
Series Streak: Notre Dame – won 4
Last Meeting: Oct. 13, 2006 – Notre Dame, 3-0
Live Stats/Video/Audio: UND.com
History 101 …The Irish took three-straight games from DePaul in an Oct. 13 win in 2006 … a balanced attack limited DePaul to 48 total points … the Blue Demon’s hitting percentage of .057 was the lowest for an Irish opponent since Cincinnati hit -.057 against Notre Dame in the 2005 BIG EAST Tournament semifinals … the 48 total points by DePaul was the lowest point total allowed by Notre Dame over the season’s first 17 matches … the two programs, formerly foes in the North Star Conference, will meet for the third time since 1995 and the 13th time overall … Notre Dame holds an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series, including wins in each of the last four matches … the 2005 matchup took just 70 minutes, making it the second-quickest match in Notre Dame history in the 30-point format, and the 41 point differential was the third greatest combined margin of victory in any match for Notre Dame … the 20 point margin in the third game is tied for second greatest margin of victory for ND … Notre Dame and DePaul played the fastest game in Irish history – a 40 minute match, on Sept. 26, 1995 … DePaul’s last victory against Notre Dame was a 3-1 win in the 1991 Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio, which was also the last time DePaul won a game against Notre Dame … the Irish hold a 26-11 advantage in games won … the teams have never played a five-game match … all eight of ND’s victories have been in three games … the schools first met in the 1983 Xavier Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Blue Demons pulling out a 2-0 win … the first Irish win came one year later in a 3-0 home decision … Mary Kay Waller had 12 kills and no errors on 13 attempts for a .923 hitting percentage in a 1986 match that still stands as the highest-ever for an Irish player in any length match … in 1995, the Blue Demons finished with a -.110 hitting percentage (17 kills, 25 errors, 73 attempts), the lowest-ever by an ND opponent.
Last Time Out … Head coach Debbie Brown collected her 400th win since taking over the Irish program with a 3-1 victory over Syracuse … Notre Dame dropped the first game, 26-30, before rattling off wins in the next three frames (31-29, 30-24, 30-24) in a 3-1 conference battle … the win was No. 517 for Brown, now in her 17th campaign with the Irish and 23rd season overall as a head coach … “one of the very positive things from the match was our offensive balance,” Brown noted … “all five hitters had double-digit kills, and Ashley (Tarutis) did a great job of keeping everyone involved in the win” … leading the Irish with 19 kills was junior Justine Stremick, with senior Adrianna Stasiuk adding 17 kills on 41 swats for a .317 clip … Notre Dame (8-9 overall, 4-3 BIG EAST) finished the match by hitting .277 in the four-game affair, though Syracuse (12-10 overall, 3-4 BIG EAST) managed a .290 percentage on 15 fewer attempts … senior Ashley Tarutis dished out 58 assists – her highest total of the season – and sophomores Serinity Phillips and Megan Fesl each knocked down 13 kills … freshman Kellie Sciacca also wrapped up the match with 13 converted attacks … the Irish had 23 and 24 kills in games two and three, respectively, following an opening stanza in which they squandered a 7-4 lead by dropping behind the Orange, 15-10 … Syracuse would open that lead to eight points on four occasions … three late kills by Sciacca helped chop the margin to three (29-26) when Brittany Kern gave the Orange their final point of the game … twenty assists from Tarutis helped the Notre Dame hitters record a .320 mark in the second game … this time, the Irish took control of the game early and held on to its steady advantage with an eight-point lead (23-15) past the midway mark … ahead 28-21, seven scores by the Orange tied the game and the teams tangled horns again, 29-29 … Fesl added a kill to put Notre Dame up by one and stepped up for a solo block on Kacie MacTavish’s attack for the win … Stremick and Sciacca each recorded six kills in the third game and Tarutis got in on the action with a pair of her own as the Irish built a solid lead, 11-4, out of the gate … another solo block by Fesl put ND on top by double digits and its largest lead of the match, 22-12 … in the final period, the Orange streaked to an 18-12 advantage after four early lead changes, including an initial Irish lead on Sciacca’s game-opening ace … Sciacca finished with three aces, tying a career-high … successive kills by Stremick forced a 19-19 tie, and then Notre Dame gained the lead for good when Phillips fed Fesl to make the count 22-21 … Syracuse had four players with 10 or more digs and three with double-figure kills, led by Cheryl Cobbina with 17 … visits to LSU (Oct. 23), Connecticut (Oct. 27) and St. John’s (Oct. 28) will follow a home conference matchup with DePaul next Friday (Oct. 19) at the Joyce Center.
I Hit `Em High…Justine Stremick turned in several career-best marks in ND’s match at Syracuse … she helped spark the Irish attack with 19 kills on 36 attempts, and was responsible for 24.0 points … setter Ashley Tarutis coaled the offensive fire and dished out a 58 assists in the contest, which was a season-high for the senior,
You Hit `Em Low…Adrianna Stasiuk totaled enough digs over the weekend to move into fourth place on the all-time digs list … she could possibly move into the No. 3 spot with a solid showing against DePaul … Stasiuk (1,346) is one place behind Jenny Birkner (1,359), who gained that many digs between 1989-92.
One and Dunne … Freshman Megan Dunne saw significant action against Syracuse, and scooped a season-high nine digs … although she didn’t start in that match, Notre Dame is 1-0 in contests with Dunne in the starting lineup … the squad downed Florida International (Aug. 31) with the freshman getting the opening nod at libero.
Rally Caps Required … Friday’s home contest is the first of three Irish matches that will be followed by pep rallies for the next day’s football game … upcoming dates with Georgetown (Nov. 2) and Cincinnati (Nov. 9) will also precede pep rallies … last season, Notre Dame was 2-0 in “pep rally matches” … in fact, the Irish have only dropped one “pep rally” over the last 10 years, a span in which they have gone 15-1 on the occasion … the single loss came to No. 4 Nebraska in 2000.
Remember That One Time? The Irish volleyball team will host a “mini-reunion” of sorts, as several dozen former players are expected to be in attendance for Friday’s match … those returning will be recognized between games one and two … graduated student-athletes from the early 1980s all the way up to the 2006 season will be present.
Trading Spaces … Heading into the Marquette match, Notre Dame had never dropped a decision to the Golden Eagles … the Irish left Milwaukee with its first loss to the team in 10 tries … previously, Notre Dame held a 9-0 all-time edge over Marquette … on the latter side of the BIG EAST weekend, Syracuse – who had won the first of the 16 all-time matches between the Orange and Irish – fell to Notre Dame for the 15th-straight time since the series-opening loss.
Good Reason To Get Defensive …In a 3-0 win over Rutgers, Notre Dame did more than just pick up its third BIG EAST Conference win of the season … the team picked up the spirits and hopes of fans, friends, and family by raising $5,900 for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure grassroots network of Northern Indiana in its first-annual Dig for the Cure match, with the total amount going towards breast cancer research … “the Dig for the Cure was a wonderful event for us, and I hope we got the annual match off to a great start,” said Irish head coach Debbie Brown … “we’ve already thought of ways to make the entire experience better in hopes of raising even more money next season” …. fans were challenged to equal or exceed Brown’s pledge of $5 for each of her team’s digs in the match … the Irish defense scooped 39 digs in the three-game tilt to produce $1,848 in donations … commemorative jerseys with pink lettering worn by the team during the conference showdown were donated by adidas … the jerseys were then auctioned off to yield a total of $2,125, with the top earner bringing in $250 … a trio of Dig for the Cure t-shirts autographed by the team were auctioned off during intermission, with each going for $200 … “I was impressed with the number of people that bid on jerseys, bought t-shirts, and donated money by sponsoring digs,” added Brown. “This was a great starting point for us to build on in years to come.”
With Honors …Junior Justine Stremick turned in an incredible performance against Rutgers by finishing the match with a .706 hitting percentage, which was the highest mark by any Irish player since she turned in a .750 clip last season against South Florida … the clip tied her for the 12th-best hitting percentage by a player in program history … also against the Scarlet Knights, freshman Kellie Sciacca hit over .400 (.412) for the fifth time this season … both players were recognized on the BIG EAST’s weekly honor roll for their accomplishments … Sciacca also received the honor on Oct. 15.
Twice the Celebration …With the Notre Dame football team’s 20-6 win over UCLA and an Irish volleyball sweep over Rutgers, Saturday (Oct. 6) marked the first time this season that both the football and volleyball teams were victorious on the same day … the volleyball team had previously won on three football game-day Saturdays … the next time the two squads could potentially play on the same date is Nov. 17, when the football team wraps up the home portion of its schedule against Duke … the Irish netters could be competing simultaneously in the second round of the BIG EAST Conference Championships hosted by Marquette.
Serene Killer … One week after racking up a career-high 23 kills at West Virginia, sophomore Serinity Phillips exploded for 26 in a five-game match with Villanova … she had only six errors on 63 swings for a .317 average … Phillips leads the Irish with 235 total kills and 3.41/game.
Sciacca Tha Blocka … Freshman Kellie Sciacca had 10 blocks vs. No. 11 California (Sept. 15) but topped that personal-best with 11 against Villanova … all were assisted … the Irish are second among conference teams in blocks/game with 3.29 during league play … Louisville leads all with 4.17 … Sciacca is seventh on the list of individuals with 1.33 blocks/game against league foes.
Just-ine Time …Junior Justine Stremick is fourth among the stop charts in conference play with 1.41 blocks/game … Stremick had four solo stops against Villanova and totaled 10 to record her first double-digit block contest of the season.
Game Four Was a Bottomless Pitt … Notre Dame downed conference foe Pittsburgh 15-straight times between 1992-2002, but since then Pitt has taken five of the last seven meetings, including a 3-1 home win for the Panthers in 2007 … in that battle, Notre Dame combined to score 82 points with Pittsburgh in the fourth game of a match that was also both team’s BIG EAST Conference opener … there were 27 ties and 15 lead changes in the elongated period, and senior Adrianna Stasiuk contributed nine of her 14 kills in the game … the Irish set a school record for most points in a four-game match (131), and tied the program’s mark for the fourth-highest point total in an affair of any length … their 40 points in game four was the most ever won in a single game, eclipsing the previous high of 37 in game one of a 3-1 victory over Eastern Washington in 2003.
If the Jersey Fits … Adrianna Stasiuk started each of the matches during the opening conference weekend at the libero position, and even tied a season-high mark of 21 digs at Pittsburgh … Stasiuk fired home 14 kills in the final two games against the Panthers after being relieved of libero duties … she had 17 scoops at West Virginia and came one kill shy of recording her eighth-straight double-double … it was the first time the senior had not notched 10 or more kills in a match since the season opener against Minnesota.
(Taru) Tis Better To Give … Ashley Tarutis had 12 assists in game one against Pittsburgh to push her four-year total over 4,000 … she became the third player in school history to record at least 4,000 in a career, joining Janelle Karlan (5,197: 1990-93) and Denis Boylan (4,687: 1997-2000) … Tarutis’ 47 assists against Missouri pushed her past Kristen Kinder (2000-03) for third-place on the school’s all-time assist list … the senior leads the Irish this season with 670 helpers (9.71/game), and has 4,253 for her career.
Line Fusion … A pair of shifts in the Irish starting lineup by head coach Debbie Brown to start BIG EAST play gave junior Mallorie Croal (at Pittsburgh) and sophomore Kim Kristoff (at West Virginia) their first starts of the season … Serinity Phillips, Kellie Sciacca, Megan Fesl, Justine Stremick, Adrianna Stasiuk, and Ashley Tarutis have all started each contest this year … two of Stasiuk’s starts have been at the libero spot … Croal, Kristoff, Megan Dunne, and Angela Puente have also received starting nods.
Take Five …Serinity Phillips (14), Kellie Sciacca (14), Megan Fesl (13), Justine Stremick (10), and Adrianna Stasiuk (14) comprised the five-player group that had 10+ kills in a 3-1 loss at Pittsburgh … the feat was a first for an Irish squad since Christina Kaelin (24), Mallorie Croal (14), Stremick (14) Stasiuk (13) and Fesl (13) did the same versus Missouri on Sept. 2, 2006 … ND dropped that match, 3-2.
Rolling In the Conference Honors … Middle blocker Kellie Sciacca was voted the league’s Freshman of the Week (9/17) after she posted career-best marks in every major statistical category for the Irish at the Bronco Invitational in Santa Clara, Calif. … Sciacca became the first Irish player to record 10+ blocks – since teammate Justine Stremick did so last season against Idaho – when she registered 10 against No. 11 California in Notre Dame’s 3-2 loss … she turned in the team’s highest individual hitting percentage of the season (.625) with a personal-best 16 kills against No. 22 Santa Clara while adding career-highs of three aces and six digs in the winning effort … she finished the three-match invite with 37 kills and a .361 mark over 14 games.
Hoisting the Hardware … Freshman Kellie Sciacca was recognized on the BIG EAST’s weekly honor roll (Sept. 10) after posting 15 kills (.524) and nine blocks against Alabama in the Shamrock Invitational, which she followed with a 12-kill performance vs. No. 13 Ohio … Megan Fesl was a part of the same list one week earlier (Sept. 3) after a 20-kill output at Missouri while earning all-tournament honors at the Tiger Invitational.
Alive In Five … Splitting five-game matches against No. 11 California and No. 22 Santa Clara gave the Irish a 3-2 record in extra-inning contests at that point in the season … the consecutive tilts with Cal and Santa Clara were the first back-to-back five-game matches Notre Dame played since 2005, when they split a pair with Tennessee (L, 3-2) and Dayton (W, 3-2) … the Irish played a total of four five-gamers in 2006.
A Long Time Coming … A run of four losses to ranked teams this season came to an end when ND downed No. 22 Santa Clara … before doing so, the last ranked team Notre Dame dismantled was No. 24 St. John’s during the 2006 BIG EAST Tournament (Nov. 18).
Hello…Is It Me You’re Looking For? Coming off an injury, preseason all-BIG EAST choice Mallorie Croal saw her first action of the season in an Irish loss to No. 11 California … Croal, who played sparingly, had a kill and two digs … she put together a band of seven consecutive double-doubles to end the 2006 season, which is the second longest streak in the record books.
Join the Club …In a five-game tilt with Alabama, Adrianna Stasiuk smashed the 1,000th kill of her career to tie game three at 25-25, and in doing so joined 16 other players in the program’s history to reach that plateau … she also became only the seventh Notre Dame player ever to register 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career, as Jamie Lee (1994-97) and Angie Harris (1994-97) were the last to do so … not too much later in the frame with the Irish ahead 29-28, Stasiuk connected on kill No. 1,002 to put the finishing touches on the Crimson Tide.
Sweet Home (Win Against) Alabama …The Irish were in a familiar – yet uncomfortable – spot during a 3-2 win over Alabama … just two matches earlier against Florida International, Notre Dame lost the first game and was trailed, 2-1, going into the third frame … instead of hitting the panic button, ND came back to win both matches to remain undefeated in five-game contests this season … several program milestones were eclipsed, which include the last time: a Notre Dame player had 20+ kills [Megan Fesl (20)]; five Notre Dame players had 10+ digs [Serinity Phillips (10), Ashley Tarutis (15), Megan Fesl (19), Adrianna Stasiuk (16), Angela Puente (15); four Notre Dame players had 15+ digs [Ashley Tarutis (15), Megan Fesl (19), Adrianna Stasiuk (16), Angela Puente (15)]; Notre Dame had 80+ digs (80); Notre Dame player hit .500+ [Kellie Sciacca (15-4-21, .524)]; Notre Dame hit .500+ as a team in a game … Sciacca’s .524 mark is third-best in school history for a five-game match … one week previous, the Irish set a school record by hitting .538 in game five against Florida International.
They’re Grrrrrreat! Both Megan Fesl and Serinity Phillips earned spots on the all-tournament team at Missouri’s Tiger Invitational after posting career performances … Fesl turned in a personal-best 20 kills against Florida International and a season-high 16 digs against Missouri … with 19.0 points against the Golden Panthers, Phillips set a career-high in that stat column … she also had a (then) season-high 15 kills and seven blocks in Notre Dame’s win over FIU.
Gimme Five…or Four …It’s nice when two or three players connect on 10+ kills in a match … but it’s even better when five can pull it off … that’s just what then-20th Notre Dame did when they faced Missouri last season, who was ranked 13th coming into the Sept. 2 match … Christina Kaelin (24), Mallorie Croal (14), Justine Stremick (14) Adrianna Stasiuk (13), and Megan Fesl (13) all had double-digit kill performances for Notre Dame … in the 2007 matchup, four Irish players hit the double-digit mark in that category: Serinity Phillips (11), Fesl (14), Stasiuk (10), and Stremick (13).
What a Difference a Year Makes … In game two against No. 13 Ohio, and attack from Tara Enzweiler got through the Bobcat defense to give ND a 16-14 lead … she soon assisted on a Megan Fesl kill to put the Irish ahead by three at 18-15 … it was not just a rare assist for the middle blocker, but a very rare assist … her last dish came exactly one year prior to the Ohio match against Kansas State at the Northern Iowa Invitational in Cedar Falls, Iowa (Sept. 9, 2006).
Shining at the Shamrock …Two Irish players earned spots on the Shamrock Invitational all-tournament team, as Serinity Phillips and Megan Fesl represented Notre Dame after career weekends … Phillips had a (then) personal-high 18 kills against Alabama on 48 attempts, and her 12 digs in first-round action with College of Charleston was also a career-best … Fesl’s second 20-kill match of the season came against the Crimson Tide with a pair of aces … a (then) career-high 5.0 blocks came against College of Charleston for the sophomore.
Block Party … Notre Dame totaled a (then) season-high 21.0 blocks against College of Charleston while holding the Cougars to an attack percentage of .151 … seven Irish players recorded blocks, with Justine Stremick leading the way with nine … Serinity Phillips had seven and setter Ashley Tarutis got her hand on six shots … the 21.0 blocks made it the first 20+ block match for Notre Dame since a Sept. 2 date with Idaho in 2006 … the Irish had 20.0 blocks in that 3-1 win.
Volleyball’s Cal Ripken … Ashley Tarutis saw action in each of Notre Dame’s eight games over the course of the Tiger Invitational, which then pushed her total of consecutive games played to a school-record 365 … libero Meg Henican played in 363 straight games between Nov. 17, 2002 – Dec. 9, 2005 … Tarutis is the only player in the history of the program to play in each game of every match (419 of 419) throughout a career … next on the list is Lauren Brewster (.969 – 444/458) … Tarutis is also one of four players to play in every career match.
Check Next Door … There may have been a lot of head scratching going on when fans made their way to the Joyce Center’s main arena to watch Notre Dame battle No. 7 Florida on Aug. 26 … the arena was being used for a freshmen orientation session, and as a result, the Joyce Center Fieldhouse hosted its first-ever volleyball match … the televised competition was played in front of 721 fans.
Four Hands Are Better Than Two … Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas passed out 35 and 20 assists, respectively, in an Irish loss against No. 7 Florida … the occasion marked the second time in three matches that Notre Dame had two players record 20+ assists … the same duo accomplished the feat in the 2006 finale against No. 10 Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament … Tarutis had 45 assists with Nicholas adding 21 in the BIG EAST opener at Pittsburgh … both handed out 20+ vs. Villanova.
Must Have Been Something She Ate … When Notre Dame cracked open the lid on the 2007 season, Serinity Phillips had three kills on 14 attempts with two errors for a .071 average against Minnesota … whatever she did on her day off between Friday evening and Sunday’s match with Florida must have worked … Phillips responded with a career-best .583 hitting percentage with 14 kills on 24 swats without an error … previously, Christina Kaelin (12-2-18, .556) was the last Irish player to hit .500+ when she did so in a 3-2 win at Cincinnati in 2006.
Are You Down for a Road Trip? Missouri’s Tiger Invitational was originally slated to be a four-team tournament … Florida A&M opted to withdraw from the event, leaving Notre Dame without a Sunday match due to the shifted schedule … instead, the Irish left Columbia for St. Louis several hours before their flight departed town to take in some sights … the squad made it to the top of the Gateway Arch and watched the St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Cincinnati Reds in Busch Stadium … with the scoreboard chock full of zeroes, the Cards’ Rick Ankiel led off the sixth inning with a solo homer and soon stepped out of the dugout for a curtain call … but Irish manager Hy Pham may have drawn an even louder ovation from the patrons of section 367 for an earlier performance … Pham took the spotlight by downing two hotdogs and a chicken sandwich – which was followed with a large soda – before the midway point of the first inning … Pham claims he has never used performance-enhancing drugs … Notre Dame also visited the University of Missouri Children’s Hospital on Saturday morning before playing Florida International later that evening … while there, they passed out Notre Dame volleyball collectables in addition to quite a few hugs, smiles, and laughs with patients.
How’ve You Been Doing? Notre Dame’s non-conference opponents on the 2007 schedule went a combined 23-5 (.821) in the season’s opening week … at the time, seven of those squads were ranked in the CSTV/AVCA’s top-25 … not one of the 12 teams ended the week below .500
This Too Shall Pass … Not since 1990 has Notre Dame dropped its first two matches to start a season, albeit the pair of losses to kick off 2007 came against top-10 squads … that made five-straight losses for the Irish dating back to a 3-2 setback against Louisville on Nov. 19, 2006, which was the longest streak since the program dropped seven straight matches – twice – in 1990 … a five-game win over Florida International on Sept. 1 christened the win column for the Irish in 2007.
–ND–