Nov. 27, 2010
LONG BEACH, Calif. – One week after earning her third straight all-tournament team honor at the BIG EAST Volleyball Championship, junior Kristen Dealy recorded a double-double with 10 kills and 13 digs at Long Beach State Friday evening. However, the effort was not enough for Notre Dame to overcome the host 49ers as the Irish fell, 3-0 (26-24, 25-16, 25-19).
The loss on the opening day of the Mizuno Thanksgiving Tournament at Walter Pyramid wrapped up the regular season for Notre Dame, which ended the campaign with an 18-13 overall record. Long Beach improved to 23-7.
Dealy averaged 3.43 kills/set and 4.29 digs/set with four blocks at the BIG EAST Championship and did not miss a beat in her home state. The double-double was 10th of season for one of six California natives on the Irish roster, and the outside hitter also added three aces, three assists and three blocks.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Year Andrea McHugh added another double-double for Notre Dame with 10 kills and 12 digs. Sophomore Hilary Eppink went for six kills as freshman setter Maggie Brindock added four kills with senior Kellie Sciacca rounding out the Irish output with five kills and four blocks.
Notre Dame hit .113 as Long Beach recorded a .252 clip.
Long Beach received 10 kills from both Caitlin Ledoux and Haleigh Hampton, with Lauren Minkel leading all players with 20 digs. Setter Ashley Lee had a match-high 38 assists.
Notre Dame fell behind early in the first by four points but rallied back to tie it at 8-8 on a Dealy kill. Dealy then teamed with Sciacca for a block to give the Irish a 10-9 edge that was wiped out by a 5-1 Long Beach spurt.
The Irish regained the lead when Dealy buried a dish from junior Frenchy Silva at 18-17.
Brindock went over on the second touch at 23-21, but Long Beach answered with three straight to put the wrap on the set by a two-point margin.
Struggling to stay within a pair on many occasions in the second set, Notre Dame romped its way to within a deuce at 17-15. From there, Long Beach rattled off five straight to take a 22-15 lead and went on to win the period by nine.
McHugh started the third with a kill as Hampton knocked down the next two for the 49ers and added a solo block at 3-1. Sciacca delivered a kill at 15-12 and a Dealy ace made it 15-13 before a 49er error brought Notre Dame within one. Feeling the heat, the host squad scored two straight after the 20-17 mark to separate itself from Notre Dame to earn the win.
–ND–