Nov. 19, 2010
Box Score | Box Score
| Match Highlights
Quotes (video): Kristen Dealy | Head coach Debbie Brown
*videos courtesy of the BIG EAST Conference
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Fifth-seeded Notre Dame upended fourth-seeded Villanova Friday morning at Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Fieldhouse, 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 21-25, 25-14), in the opening round of the 2010 BIG EAST Conference Volleyball Championship.
The Irish will now play in Saturday’s 1:00 p.m. (ET) semifinal match against the winner of the contest between No. 1 Cincinnati and No. 8 USF.
In what was the fourth meeting – all Irish victories – between the two programs in the BIG EAST Championship, Notre Dame (18-11) left the building with a spot in the league tournament’s semifinals for the 16th straight season. Villanova (23-7) saw its record-breaking campaign come to a close after making its first tournament appearance since 1997, as the Irish avenged their regular-season loss to the Wildcats.
Junior Kristen Dealy and sophomore Hilary Eppink each had 15 kills, as Dealy grouped her effort with 15 digs and three blocks. Eppink hit .375 with four blocks and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Andrea McHugh pounded 12 kills with a team-high 17 digs.
Freshman Sammie Brown had 27 assists and a pair of aces with classmate Andie Olsen adding six kills on 14 errorless swings with five blocks.
An all-around output by senior Kellie Sciacca (five kills, three aces, five digs and four blocks) helped the Irish hit .314 while holding the Wildcats to a .193 average.
Morgan Petkovich led all players with 18 kills.
Sciacca and Eppink each had a pair of kills before either team reached the 10-point mark in the opener. Villanova held an 11-5 lead that Notre Dame chopped away thanks to a six-point swing behind McHugh’s serve. Trailing 19-18, Notre Dame scored on the final seven rallies of the set with McHugh once again leading the way from behind the service stripe.
Eppink and Olsen roofed a Krista Andersen attack to give Notre Dame its first and final lead at 21-20, and Olsen buried an overpass on set point.
Eppink had six kills in the set with junior Frenchy Silva scooping seven shots. Notre Dame hit .357 in the set as six different players combined for 18 kills. Silva would go to post a match-high 21 digs.
Notre Dame fell behind briefly in the second, overcoming a 3-1 deficit to take a 15-12 lead at the media timeout on an Olsen kill. At 18-15, the Irish posted a 5-0 run backed by an ace from Sciacca.
Brown ended the second set with an ace, and began the third period by duplicating the feat. Notre Dame owned a 12-10 advantage, but the Wildcats scored five of the next seven points to take a lead they would not relinquish. A pair of blocks gave Villanova a 13-12 lead as the Wildcats went on to take a 22-17 cushion. Notre Dame closed within a pair at 23-20 but could get no closer.
Villanova avoided the sweep in the back-and-forth third set while holding the Irish to a .211 hitting percentage. Neither side led by more than five points throughout the entire frame.
The Irish clinched the match in the fourth and built a 10-point lead at 23-13 following back-to-back aces by Sciacca and a kill from McHugh. Notre Dame hit .455 in the set as Dealy and McHugh had five kills apiece. Eppink sealed the win for Notre Dame with a block on match point.
–ND–