Aug. 27, 2011
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Sophomore Andrea McHugh’s 13th career double-double featured a match-high 25 kills to help the Notre Dame volleyball team run past visiting Idaho, 3-1 (25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 25-15), Saturday night at Purcell Pavilion.
The win improved Notre Dame’s record to 2-0 heading into a Sunday affair with Butler to wrap up the Shamrock Invitational. That match will begin at 1:30 p.m. (ET) with live video, audio and stats available at UND.com.
McHugh, who saved eight of her converted swats for the fourth set, also matched senior Frenchy Silva for team-high honors with 13 digs. Three of McHugh’s fourth-set kills came in the back-to-back-to-back variety before her solo block on match point. McHugh hit .373 in the contest.
Idaho (1-1) saw Allison Walker tally 23 kills on .360 hitting with 16 digs and four blocks. Alicia Milo added 15 while Jenny Feicht handed out 46 assists.
Sophomore Maggie Brindock had 40 assists for the Irish as her squad out-hit the Vandals, .259 to .228.
Senior Kristen Dealy had nine kills and six digs with two blocks on the evening.
Both teams had 53 kills, four aces and 66 points.
The first set had its fair share of drama, as Notre Dame dug itself out of a 6-3 hole with an 11-2 run to build a comfortable lead. Four of McHugh’s six kills in the set came during the Irish jaunt.
Notre Dame hit .297 to start the match but dropped its average to .077 in the next set.
Junior Hilary Eppink tied the second set at 7-7 with a solo block before Idaho decided to score five unanswered. Notre Dame trailed by as many as eight (20-12), closing the gap to 21-19 on an Idaho hitting error prior to seeing the visitors take four of the next five points.
Four mid-set blocks by Notre Dame helped secure a wire-to-wire win in the third. The first of the five Irish rejections in the set came on the opening play with a double-stuff by Eppink and McHugh. Eppink finished with four block assists.
Things improved in the third as the Irish hit .375 with only a pair of errors on 32 swings.
McHugh’s 20th kill cracked open a 7-7 tie in the fourth and No. 21 came one swing later. Each of the two kills were part of Notre Dame’s 8-0 run to make the score 15-7.
Sophomore Sam Brown turned on the heat with a pair of kills in the final set, as did freshman Jeni Houser.
Leading 21-15, McHugh cleaned up the Vandals with the final four scores of the night.
–ND–