Oct. 8, 2011
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Sophomore Andrea McHugh had 10 kills on a .409 hitting clip with 12 digs to secure a double-double as Notre Dame downed Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon at Fitzgerald Field House, 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-20). Win the BIG EAST Conference volleyball win, Notre Dame improved to 9-6 overall (2-3 BIG EAST) and snapped a three-match skid heading into Sunday’s match at West Virginia.
Pittsburgh (12-7, 2-3) was led by Kiesha Leggs’ team-high 11 kills.
It was a wire-to-wire win in the opening set when sophomore Sammie Brown served the Irish to four straight points behind an ace at 2-0 and kills from McHugh and freshman Toni Alugbue.
McHugh would soon add two of her four aces on the day during another 4-0 run as the Irish cruised through the first set.
The teams traded points to start the second and after an 8-8 tie the Irish went on an 8-2 spurt as McHugh and freshman Kathleen Severyn laid down an ace apiece to declaw the Panthers.
Back-to-back kills by McHugh kicked off the third though a flurry of attack errors by Notre Dame put Pittsburgh on top, 14-10. Trailing 16-12, Alugbue fired off three kills during an 8-0 run to help put the Irish in great position for the victory.
Alugbue exploded for nine kills in the contest on .615 hitting and was matched by freshman Jeni Houser for team-high honors with five blocks. Houser also had six kills.
The Irish hit .400 in the first set and .214 overall while Pittsburgh finished with a .098 hitting pct.
–ND–