Sept. 24, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Freshman Andrea McHugh sliced West Virginia for 16 kills and scooped 13 shots for her fifth career double-double as the Notre Dame volleyball team swept the visiting Mountaineers, 3-0 (25-10, 25-19, 28-26), Friday at Purcell Pavilion. McHugh had seven kills in the third set when Notre Dame rallied from a 24-20 deficit to capture the win.
In what was both team’s BIG EAST Conference opener, Notre Dame snapped a three-match skid and improved its overall record to 8-5 (1-0 BIG EAST) West Virginia fell to 10-6 and 0-1 in league play. The win was the 12th straight over WVU for Notre Dame, who also won its BIG EAST opener for the 15 time in 16 seasons.
Notre Dame stays at home for a 2:00 p.m. (ET) matchup Sunday against league foe Pittsburgh. Live video, audio and stats will be available at UND.com.
The first set was quick and easy for the Irish, who hit .333 with 16 kills and three errors on 39 attempts. McHugh laid down five kills as senior Kellie Sciacca and freshman Sam Brown each had three. Brown, who was seeing the floor for the first time in her career, started the match and showcased her talent with five kills (.500) and one block. Sciacca finished with nine kills and two stuffs.
At 12-9 in the first set, Notre Dame sandwiched scoring streaks of 6-0 and 7-0 between a WVU kill for the win. The Mountaineers hit -.061 in the first set and .080 on the evening.
Notre Dame scored the first two points of the second set and extended that lead to 12-4. Sophomore Hilary Eppink had one of her four kills at 20-10 and a WVU error gave Notre Dame set point at 24-14. The Mountaineers put up a fight as Lauren Evans struck twice for kills during a 5-0 run, but McHugh unloaded from the left side at 24-19 to close the door.
Junior Kristen Dealy anchored the Irish defense in the third set with seven digs, finishing with 16 scoops and six kills in the match. WVU led by seven (21-14) and seemed to be cruising along for the set victory until Notre Dame mounted a furious rally to tie it at 24-24, as Dealy cranked out two kills at the 26-26 mark to seal the Irish win.
Freshman Sammie Brown led Notre Dame with 27 assists as the team hit .229. Junior Frenchy Silva had 12 digs and Eppink led the Irish with two blocks.
Michelle Kopecky had a team-high eight kills for West Virginia.
–ND–