Nov. 9, 2007
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
Box Score (PDF)
Download Free Acrobat Reader
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Entering Friday’s BIG EAST Conference match against Cincinnati in a three-way tie for fifth place in the conference standings, the University of Notre Dame volleyball team knew it had to win at least one of its next two matches to earn a spot in this year’s league tournament.
A 3-1 (31-33, 30-23, 30-28, 30-20) win over the Bearcats (17-10 overall, 8-5 BIG EAST) on Friday in the Joyce Center may have separated the Irish (12-12 overall, 8-5 BIG EAST) from the pack to secure a spot in the postseason championship.
In front of a raucous crowd of 7,523, the second largest in program history, junior Justine Stremick (Langdon, N.D./Langdon Area) threw down 16 kills on 30 attempts for a .367 clip, adding eight blocks along the way. It was the sixth match in a row in which Stremick has led the Irish in blocks.
“That was a huge win for us, and I feel like the team executed really well,” said Notre Dame head coach Debbie Brown. “It wasn’t the prettiest volleyball that we’ve played, but we played with more intensity than we had all season.”
Six kills and 51 assists from senior Ashley Tarutis (Long Beach, Calif./Los Alamitos) guided the Irish to a .299 overall hitting percentage, including a .471 mark in the final game.
A double-double from senior Adrianna Stasiuk (Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) – her 18th of the season – was earned when she finished with 11 kills and 14 digs. Kellie Sciacca (Monument, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) had 11 kills and four blocks with a .417 average.
The Bearcats’ Annie Fesl logged 43 assists and a pair of aces while her sister, Irish sophomore Megan Fesl (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey), led the home squad with a .429 average by means of 14 kills on 28 swats with two errors.
Four of Notre Dame’s fourteen service errors for the match came in game one. Cincinnati took full advantage of the free points as the opening bout ruffled its way to 18 ties. Notre Dame took a four-point lead (24-20) on a UC error, but a triple block by Jessica Elley, Jessie Nevitt, and Jenny Custer tied the game at 26-26. Tarutis bumped one into the gap (27-27) and Stasiuk had a solo block to give Notre Dame a one-point advantage (28-27). Custer and Stephanie Niemer gave UC the final two kills it would need to win the extended frame.
The Irish hit .308 to start the match, though Cincinnati had three more kills (20) on eight more chances (47) than Notre Dame for a .234 hitting average.
Cincinnati struggled to find its offensive groove in the second game and posted a .054 average. Stremick had five kills and five blocks in the period, and was joined by sophomore Tara Enzweiler (Raleigh, N.C./Cardinal Gibbons) on two of those stops. Enzweiler would add to more blocks later in the match.
Notre Dame found themselves trailing by five (6-11) to start the second stanza when Stasiuk feigned the set and bumped one into the heart of a napping Bearcat defense on the second hit. Sophomore Serinity Phillips (Valley Center, Calif./Valley Center) sent a crosser to the corner to bring Notre Dame within two (10-12), then Tarutis lofted a backset for Stremick to lay town to make the score 13-14 in favor of UC. Notre Dame snatched the lead on a Stremick kill (16-15) and Fesl rifled one through the double block to keep the Irish up by one (18-17). Tarutis tossed one over from her knees to make the count 20-20 and the Irish would rally to outscore Cincinnati, 10-3, after that point.
Sophomore Kim Kristoff (Carmel, Ind./Brebeuf Prep) cashed in on an ace (16-14) and Sciacca locked in for a kill on the slide to put Notre Dame up by three (18-15) in the third game. But the Bearcats mounted an 8-0 run to take a five-point lead. Notre Dame clawed its way back and tied things up (26-26) when Tarutis won a joust at the net with Elley. The Irish took the lead (27-26) on a UC hitting error before Stremick and Tarutis teamed for a block one point later. Stremick punched in another kill (29-28), allowing Fesl to slam her second game-winning kill of the match.
Despite dropping the game, Cincinnati did better Notre Dame in the hitting department over the period with a .225 mark compared to a .179 average by the Irish.
Fesl put the team on her shoulders in game four by bringing home seven kills on 10 attempts. The Irish lead would grow to six on Stremick’s kill (13-7) and Stasiuk pushed one back into no man’s land one play later. Tarutis lined an ace (20-11) before Fesl registered three kills after that point.
“We had a theme for the match that we were going to finish strong – we were going to finish the end of each game strongly,” Brown added. “The character of the team really came out as finished really strong in games two, three, and four. Especially so in game three, when we were down and had such a strong finish and were able to carry that momentum into game four. It was a great team effort, and Adrianna (Stasiuk) and Ashley (Tarutis) provided tremendous leadership out there for us today.”
The regular season will come to an end for the Irish on Sunday when they lock horns with No. 17 Louisville at 2 p.m. (ET) in the Joyce Center. The match will be televised live on ESPNU.
–ND–