Nov. 5, 2010
VILLANOVA, Pa. – Trailing by five points late in the first set of Friday’s BIG EAST Conference volleyball match at Nevin Gymnasium, Notre Dame staged a furious comeback to take the opening stanza by a pair of points. However, Villanova rallied to win the final three periods for a 3-1 (23-25, 26-24, 26-24, 25-18) home win.
Notre Dame’s record now stands at 15-10 overall and 8-4 in BIG EAST play heading into Sunday’s non-conference Senior Day showdown with No. 13 Northern Iowa. The final home bout will begin at 2:00 p.m. (ET) with live video, audio and stats available at UND.com.
The Irish won the first 16 matches in the series history with Villanova, but have since lost three of the last four.
Junior Kristen Dealy was her stellar self with 12 kills and a career-high 34 digs, the most by an Irish player since Danielle Herndon scooped 34 shots at Cincinnati in 2006. Classmate Frenchy Silva was good for 25 digs, making the combo the first pair to record 20+ digs in a contest since a 2007 match at LSU (Megan Dunne – 23, Adrianna Stasiuk – 26).
Notre Dame’s defense helped keep the Wildcats in check by recording a season-high 100 digs. The Irish last cracked the century mark in that category during a 3-2 win at Cincinnati in 2005.
Villanova (20-6 overall, 8-3 BIG EAST) hit .155 while totaling 105 digs, 30 of which came from Kim Maroon. Morgan Petkovich led all players with 17 kills while Maggie Mergen (14) and Kristen Andersen (11) also finished with double-digit kill outputs.
Freshman Andrea McHugh and senior Kellie Sciacca had 12 kills apiece as first-year setter Sammie Brown notched a double-double with 32 assists and 10 digs.
Sophomore Hilary Eppink paced the Irish with five blocks, including one of the solo variety.
Sciacca and freshman Andie Olsen both stuffed three shots.
The match was marked by 34 stalemates (at least 10 in the first, third and fourth sets) with 16 lead changes. Both teams hit below the .100 watermark in the second set, with the Irish finishing with an overall clip of .131 on the evening.
Notre Dame’s best hitting average (.278) came in the first set, when the visitors were aided by a pair of late blocks by Olsen and Eppink to overcome a 20-15 deficit with a 10-3 run to end the frame.
Five Wildcat hitting errors helped Notre Dame enjoy a 7-1 advantage in the second. That lead lasted until a McHugh error tied the count at 20-20. Olsen’s solo block put Notre Dame back on top, 23-22, though Villanova scored on three of the next five rallies to tie the big board at 1-1 heading into the break.
There were 10 ties and five lead changes in the third set, with 10 ties and six lead changes in the fourth.
Dealy had seven kills at 22 digs in the final two sets, including 14 scoops in the fourth.
Notre Dame led by five (14-9) in the fourth set before Villanova closed the match with a 16-4 jaunt.
–ND–