Oct. 10, 2006
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THIS WEEK: The Notre Dame volleyball team (11-5, 5-0 BIG EAST) continues their BIG EAST conference schedule with a match against the DePaul Blue Demons (4-16, 0-5 BIG EAST) at the Joyce Center on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. The Irish then head to Hawai’i to play two non-conference matches against the Rainbows Wahine (12-4) on Monday, Oct. 16 and Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 6 p.m. (HT) during the fall break. Each of the next three matches will be on television as the DePaul match will be shown on Comcast Local and both Hawai’i matches are shown on KFVE-TV (a local Hawaii TV station).
QUICK HITS ABOUT THE IRISH: Below are some highlights of the note package. For more details on any topic, consult the remainder of the release.
* The Fighting Irish after wins over Marquette (3-1) and Syracuse (3-0) over the weekend have started the conference season 5-0 for the eighth consecutive season.
* The Irish win over Marquette was their ninth in as many attempts. The Syracuse win was Notre Dame’s 14th straight over the Orange.
* A near record crowd of 5,732 fans, aided by the football pep rally to follow, saw Notre Dame defeat Marquette on Oct. 6. The crowd was the second largest home volleyball crowd at the Joyce Center ever and ranks as the 15th largest crowd nationally this season.
* Freshman Serinity Phillips was the latest Notre Dame volleyball player to take home a weekly BIG EAST award. She was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Oct. 9 after posting 20 kills and 11 blocks against Marquette and Syracuse.
* Junior Adrianna Stasiuk took charge against the Marquette with 13 kills and 20 digs. The 20 digs are the first time she has had 20 digs in a match this season. She also tallied six service aces, which is tied for the second most registered in a four-game match.
* Senior Danielle Herndon tallied 23 digs against Marquette. It was the second time this season that Notre Dame has had two players record 20+ digs in the same match.
* The Irish are 6-0 in four-game sets this season.
* Adrianna Stasiuk was again the offensive leader against Syracuse as she slammed home a match-high 15 kills and recorded 11 digs for her 12th double-double of the season
* Serinity Phillips had a strong day with 11 kills and a career-high eight blocks.
* Ashley Tarutis led the team in assists for the ninth time this season with 26. Freshman Jamel Nicholas also contributed 22 assists. It was the second match in a row and third time the pair have gone over the 20 assists mark together in the same match.
* Adrianna Stasiuk has always played excelled against the Blue Demons with a career average of 4.00 kills per game to go along with a steady hitting percentage of .579.
* Ashley Tarutis has also played well against the Blue Demons with her career average of 12.67 assists per game.
* Adrianna Stasiuk has been on a mission over the last four weeks in leading the Irish to a 7-1 record, she has tallied seven double-doubles and led the team in kills six times over the last four weeks.
* Five Notre Dame volleyball players have played in all 58 games this season (Adrianna Stasiuk, Justine Stremick, Ashley Tarutis, Jamel Nicholas and Danielle Herndon). Other trends include three players that have started all 14 matches (Stasiuk, Fesl and Herndon) and that Notre Dame has used eight different lineups this season but has had the same seven starters for the last five of the last six matches.
* A few Notre Dame volleyball players are quickly moving up the career and season charts. Junior Adrianna Stasiuk with her 14 double digit digs matches this season now has 58 in her career, which is tied for fourth all-time in the double figure dig mark. She also has totaled 36 double-doubles, which is tied for third all-time on that list.
* Ashley Tarutis with her 379 assists this season now has 3,102 assists in her career, which is fourth all-time having just passed Taryn Collins.
* Freshman Christina Kaelin with five 20+-kill matches this year is just out of the top-10 all-time for matches with 20+ kills for the Irish.
* Adrianna Stasiuk has recorded 12 double-doubles in the first 16 matches.
* Danielle Herndon became only the 10th Notre Dame player to tally 1,000 digs in the match against Syracuse. * Adrianna Stasiuk became only the 17th Notre Dame player to tally 1,000 kills in her career against Marquette.
* The Irish continue to alternate their two setters this season with both Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas earning playing time. Each setter has started and lead the team in assists in seven matches this season.
* No individual Notre Dame player is ranked among the top-10 in the BIG EAST in assists, yet the Irish thanks to both setters, Jamel Nicholas and Ashley Tarutis, are second in the conference in assists (14.47).
* Justine Stremick currently is fifth in the conference in blocks per game with an average of 1.47. Her 16 solo blocks, though are the second most in the conference.
* Justine Stremick’s 85 total blocks this year is more than her next two teammates combined.
* Danielle Herndon is second in the BIG EAST with her average of 5.33 digs per game. The Irish lead the BIG EAST with an average of 17.66 digs per game.
* Adrianna Stasiuk is eighth in the league with an average of 0.41 service aces per game.
* Christina Kaelin is 10th in the conference in kills per game (kpg) at 3.83. She is the only freshman to rank among the top-10 in the conference in this category. The Irish as a team are second in the conference in kills per game 15.83.
* In BIG EAST play only the Irish lead in league in hitting percentage (.291) and service aces per game (2.24) while placing second in opponents hitting percentage (.153) and kills (16.94).
* Since the start of conference play several of Notre Dame’s young players have turned the corner. Kim Kristoff leads the league in hitting percentage (.480) while fellow rookie Jamel Nicholas is averaging a conference best 0.80 service aces per game. Sophomore Justine Stremick is sixth in the conference in hitting percentage (.425).
* With the victory over Seton Hall on Saturday, Sept. 30, head coach Debbie Brown became only the 28th NCAA volleyball coach to reach the 500-win milestone. Her record now stands at 500-210 in her 22 years as collegiate head coach at Arizona State and Notre Dame.
* Adrianna Stasiuk was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time in her career on Sept. 25. She led the Irish to a 2-0 start in conference play with a team best 26 kills (3.71) and 25 digs (3.57) while hitting a solid .434 from the field for the week. Stasiuk was also named one of und.com’s Primetime Performers of the Week.
* Notre Dame has high hopes for the upcoming 2006 campaign as the squad returns three starters and seven monogram winners.
* Joining the strong nucleus this season is one the highest ranked freshman classes in the country (third by Volleyball Magazine and fifth by PrepVolleyball.com).
* Head Coach Debbie Brown returns for her 16th season at the helm of volleyball program and signed a new contract extension in the off-season.
* Two additions to the coaching staff this season are former Virginia Tech head coach Greg Smith and Kevin Lane.
* Notre Dame takes on nine teams in 10 matches this season that were participants in the 2005 NCAA Volleyball Tournament.
* Notre Dame has four matches on home football weekends this season two of them were last weekend, Oct. 6-8 and two will be later in the season
* Danielle Herndon is the lone senior on the team, the first time since 1983 that the Notre Dame roster will only have one senior.
* Over the last 16 years Notre Dame is an impressive 185-31 (.856) at the Joyce Center.
* The Fighting Irish have compiled an overall record of 125-7 (.945) including a record of 69-1 at the Joyce Center during regular season play against BIG EAST competition since joining the conference in 1995.
* This is the 35th anniversary of women’s athletics at Notre Dame, in celebration the volleyball team and the female athletic teams at Notre Dame will wear special patches on their uniforms this season. There will also be a special celebration in April. For more information see the info located toward the back of this notes package.
SCOUTING DEPAUL: The Blue Demons had a tough weekend with two conference losses to Syracuse and Marquette … DePaul has now dropped its last nine matches after a brief three match winning streak toward the middle of the season … The Blue Demons remains winless on the road this season (0-10) … DePaul will take on fellow Chicago area product Chicago State on Tuesday, Oct. 10 before coming to Notre Dame to take on the Irish … senior outside hitter Morgan Ingersoll has led the offensive charge for the Blue Demons with 287 kills (4.10 per game) … freshman setter Emily McGinnis has down a solid job of setting up the offense with an average of 10.45 assists per game … senior libero Ellen Hayes leads the team with 277 digs and is second in kills (164) … there is only one member of the Blue Demons that is not a Midwestern native and that is sophomore Christina Correa … Head coach Amy Kleyweg is in her first season at the helm of DePaul but spent her playing career playing for South Florida (1993-95).
SERIES VS. DEPAUL: The Irish and the Blue Demons, formerly foes in the North Star Conference, will meet for the second time since 1995 and the 12th time overall … Notre Dame holds a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series, including wins in each of the last three matches … the most-recent match up between the schools was a 30-20, 30-19, 30-10 win by the Irish in Chicago last season, which took just 70 minutes, making it the second quickest match in Notre Dame history in the 30-point format … The 41 point differential in 2005 was the third greatest combined margin of victory in any match for Notre Dame … the 20 point margin in the third game is tied for second greatest margin of victory for ND … Notre Dame and DePaul played the fastest game in ND history, a 40 minute match, on Sept. 26, 1995 … DePaul’s last victory against ND was a 3-1 win in the 1991 Miami Invitational in Oxford, Ohio, that was also the last time DePaul won a game against Notre Dame … each of the last three matches have seen Notre Dame ranked among the top 15 in the nation … the Irish hold a 23-11 advantage in games won … the teams have never played a five-game match … all seven of ND’s victories have been in three games … the schools first played in the 1983 Xavier Invitational in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Blue Demons winning 2-0 … the first Irish win came in 1984 in the Joyce Center in a 3-0 decision … since 1986, DePaul has won just once in seven matches … freshman Megan Fesl (Arlington Heights, John Hersey H.S., Sports Performance) joins junior Adrianna Stasiuk (Park Ridge, Maine South H.S., Sports Performance VBC) as the latest Chicago-area products to play volleyball for the Irish … Illinois has produced 20 ND players, which places it as the second-most-common home state in program history (California-24) … on Oct. 4, 1986, ND’s Mary Kay Waller had 12 kills and no errors on 13 attempts for a .923 hitting percentage that still stands as the highest-ever for an Irish player in any-length match … on Sept. 26, 1995, the Blue Demons finished with a -.110 hitting percentage (17 kills, 25 errors, 73 attempts), which still stands as the lowest-ever by an ND opponent … the 40-point victory margin in that match is tied for the fourth-highest margin ever for the Irish … this past season in the third game of the match on Oct. 15, Notre Dame set a new single game hitting percentage of .812 (14 kills, 1 error, 16 attempts) … for any match, ND’s three-game hitting percentage of .522 (53 kills, 6 errors, 90 attempts) against DePaul in 2005 was the second best total for the school against any opponent (Marquette, 1986, .539).
SCOUTING HAWAI’I: The No. 11 Rainbow Wahine, a perennial volleyball national powerhouse, are the current leaders in the Western Athletic Conference with a 6-0 record after sweeping Nevada and Utah State over the weekend … Hawai’i has a very busy week of action before taking on the Irish at the Stan Sheriff Center on Oct. 16-17 … The Rainbows defeated Boise State on Oct. 9 (3-0), and now travel to Louisiana Tech on Oct. 11 and end their mainland swing with a trip to New Mexico to take on No. 25 New Mexico State on Oct. 13 … all four Hawai’i losses this season have come against teams that are ranked among the top-25 in the country … interesting enough two have been sweeps … leading the Hawai’i attack has been sophomore left side hitter Jamie Houston with 292 kills (5.51 kills per game), which was eighth nationally as of Oct. 1 … Houston was also named the AVCA’s National Player of the Week on Oct. 9 … Kari Gregory is third on the team with 130 kills and is 18th nationally in blocks per game (1.56), while the Rainbows were tied for 17th nationally in total blocks (174.5) … senior setter Kanoe Kamana’o with her 637 assists and average of 13.55 per game is ninth nationally in assists … head coach Dave Shoji is in his 32nd season in control of Hawai’i and has already won over 900 career matches in his career … Hawai’i is the top draw in the nation with an average attendance of 7,226 fans per game and have 13 of the top 15 attended matches this season in college volleyball.
SERIES VS. HAWAI’I: This will be the seventh time these two schools have matched up … Notre Dame won the first meeting between these schools 16-14, 15-11, 15-8, but have dropped the last five … the last time these two schools met was Oct. 21-22 2002 with Hawaii taking all six games … these squads have never played anything but a three-game match …all six previous matches have taken place on back-to-back days in Hawai’i … ND has been ranked in four of the previous six meeting while Hawai’i has been ranked each time … Hawai’i is one of two schools from the Western Athletic Conference on the schedule this year (Idaho is the other) … the last time previous to this season that Notre Dame squared off against a team from the WAC was in 2004 in a five-game win over Fresno State.
A STRONG START TO THE CONFERENCE SEASON: The Fighting Irish continued their 2006 conference-winning streak with victories over Marquette (3-1) and Syracuse (3-0). This was the eighth year in a row the Notre Dame have opened the conference season with a 5-0 mark.
A FAMILIAR TREND: The Irish with wins over Marquette and Syracuse have extended their winning streaks over the Golden Eagles to eight matches and over the Orange to 14 straight matches.
PACKING THEM IN: Aided by the football pep rally to follow, the attendance for Notre Dame’s match against Marquette on Oct. 6 was listed at 5,732. That crowd is the 15th largest nationally and the second biggest crowd ever for a Notre Dame volleyball match at home. That number of fans is behind only the 8,643 fans that packed the Joyce Center for the Virginia Tech match on Nov. 7, 2003, which was also a pep rally match.
PHILLIPS NAMED ROOKIE OF THE WEEK: Freshman Serinity Phillips after the strongest week of her young career was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week for the first time in her career. Phillips totaled 20 kills (2.86 per game) and 11 blocks (1.57), while hitting .327 in the wins over Marquette and Syracuse. She is the second Irish freshman to be named rookie of the week this season, as Christina Kaelin was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week twice earlier this season. This is the third time, since 1996, that two different Irish players have been named rookie of the week in the same season (2003 – Lauren Brewster & Lauren Kelbley and 1997 – Christi Girton & Denise Boylan.)
NOTES FROM THE MARQUETTE MATCH: Notre Dame had several noteworthy performances from the Golden Eagles match.
* Junior Adrianna Stasiuk led the charge against the Golden Eagles with a team best 13 kills to go along with 20 digs. It was Stasiuk’s 11th double-double of the season and her fourth in as many matches in BIG EAST play this season.
* The 20 digs are the first time this season she has reached the 20-dig milestone.
* The junior also served up six service aces, which were not only a career-high but are tied for the second most registered by a Notre Dame volleyball player in a four game match
* Senior Danielle Herndon led the team with 23 digs. It was just the second time this season that Notre Dame has had two players with 20+ digs in the same match (Herndon (29) and Jamel Nicholas (21)-Sept. 2)
* Freshman Megan Fesl reached double figures with 12 kills.
* Ashley Tarutis lead the team with 30 assists for the eighth time, while Jamel Nicholas contributed 24 assists
* Notre Dame is 9-0 all-time against Marquette while Coach Brown is 3-0.
* The Irish are 6-0 in four-game sets this season.
* Adrianna Stasiuk became just the 17th Notre Dame player to tally 1,000 kills in her career.
NOTES FROM THE SYRACUSE MATCH:
* Notre Dame has now won a season-best five matches in a row.
* Junior Adrianna Stasiuk led the offensive attack with 15 kills. She also tallied 11 digs for her 12th double-double of the season.
* Freshman Serinity Phillips had a very solid performance with 11 kills and eight blocks. The eight blocks are a career-high and an impressive total for an outside hitter.
* Freshman Megan Fesl knocked down 11 kills to reach double figures for the second consecutive match and seventh time this season.
* Ashley Tarutis was again the team leader with 26 helpers. Teammate Jamel Nicholas tallied 22 assists in the victory. This was the third time this season, and second in row, that the pair have tallied 20+ assists in the same match.
* Danielle Herndon led the squad with 24 digs. It was the 14th time this season she has led the team in digs and the eighth time this season she had recorded 20 or more digs in a match. Her last dig also gave her exactly 1,000 for her career. She is only the 10th Irish player to ever reach this milestone.
AGAINST THIS WEEK’S OPPONENTS:
* Junior Adrianna Stasiuk has excelled against the Blue Demons in her career, which consist of a single match last season, with an average of four kills per game and a very steady hitting percentage of .579.
* Setter Ashley Tarutis is averaging 12.67 assists per game in her career against DePaul.
* No current player on the Notre Dame roster has played a match against Hawai’i in their career.
* Debbie Brown is 3-1 in her career against DePaul with the lone loss coming four games in her first year as a coach at Notre Dame in 1991. Coach Brown is 2-6 against Hawai’i in her career with a victory at both Notre Dame and Arizona State.
A WOMAN ON A MISSION: Over the last four weeks Adrianna Stasiuk has been taking her game to another level. The Irish have gone 7-1 over the last four weeks with the junior leading the way. In those eight matches Stasiuk had tallied seven double-doubles while leading the team in kills six times. Her 105 kills (3.89 per game) and 5.05 points per game are team best efforts in both categories and she is second on the squad in digs with 101 (3.74 per game). She leads the team with 19 service aces and tied for third on the team in assists.
THE IRON GROUP: Five Fighting Irish players have taken the court in all 58 games this season (Adrianna Stasiuk, Justine Stremick, Ashley Tarutis, Jamel Nicholas and Danielle Herndon). This group of five can be dubbed the Iron Women for taking the court in every game played this season.
THEY WILL BE ON THE COURT: With so many young players on the team this season, eight different lineups have being used, but three players have stayed consistent and started all 16 matches this season in Adrianna Stasiuk, Megan Fesl and Danielle Herndon.
A FORMULA THAT WORKS: The Irish after numerous lineups have started the same group of seven players (Serinity Phillips, Kim Kristoff, Ashley Tarutis, Megan Fesl, Adrianna Stasiuk, Justine Stremick and libero Danielle Herndon) in five of the last six matches. The group is 4-1 overall but has won each of their last four matches.
A WEEKLY WATCH: These are the individual player both season and career stats to be on the lookout for this week.
* Junior Adrianna Stasiuk with her 14 double figure digs matches this season now has 58 in her career, which is fourth all-time. Her 12 double-doubles this season move her to into a tie for third with 36 with Angie Harris.
* Junior Ashley Tarutis with 379 assists this season now has 3,102 assists in her career, which is fourth on the Notre Dame assist list having just passed Taryn Collins for fourth place.
* Freshman Christina Kaelin with five 20+-kill matches this season is creeping up on the top-ten all-time at Notre Dame for 20+ kill matches in a career. Three former Notre Dame players (Christi Girton, Kathy Cunningham and Mary Kay Waller) hold the career mark of six 20+-kill matches.
GETTING HER GROOVE BACK: Junior Ashley Tarutis has led the team in assists in 73 of the last 79 matches.
DOUBLING UP: Junior Adrianna Stasiuk has had a double-double in kills and digs in 12 of the first 16 matches this season.
AN INTERESTING SITUATION: Notre Dame has switched up their two-setters junior Ashley Tarutis and Jamel Nicholas through the first 16 matches, where each one of them has led the team in assists in at seven matches this season. Due in part to the two-setter approach no individual setter is ranked among the top-10 in the BIG EAST, but Notre Dame as a team is second (14.47) in the conference in assists.
SENDING THEM BACK: Sophomore Justine Stremick is fifth in the conference with her average of 1.47 blocks per game. Her 16 solo blocks are the second most in the BIG EAST.
A POINT SAVER: Senior Danielle Herndon is second in the conference in digs per game at 5.33. Herndon and the Irish lead the conference in digs per game (17.66).
THE QUEEN OF ACES: Junior Adrianna Stasiuk is ranked 8th in the conference with an average of 0.41 service aces per game.
MAKING AN IMPACT: Christina Kaelin is 10th in the conference in kills per game with her average of 3.83. She is the only freshman in the BIG EAST Conference to rank in the category. As a team the Irish have climbed are second in the conference in kills per game at 15.83.
SHE STANDS ABOVE ALL: Justine Stremick is not only the tallest player on the team at 6’3″, she also has more than double the amount of blocks with 85 this season than her next two closest teammates combined (Adrianna Stasiuk and Kim Kristoff), who total 78 together.
A DIFFERENT SEASON: Since the beginning of conference play the Irish lead the BIG EAST in hitting percentage (.291) and service aces per game (2.24). During league play only, Notre Dame is also second in conference in opponents hitting percentage (.153) and kills (16.94).
WE’RE TURNING THE CORNER: Several individual Notre Dame players have begun to play exceptionally well since the start of league play. Freshman Kim Kristoff leads the league in hitting percentage (.480) while fellow rookie Jamel Nicholas is averaging a conference best 0.80 service aces a game. Sophomore Justine Stremick is sixth in hitting percentage (.425) in the five league matches.
FOUR IS ABOUT RIGHT: Notre Dame is undefeated this season, 6-0, when playing four games, so losing a game somewhere in the first three has ultimately been a key ingredient to success.
AN UNFORGETABLE MILESTONE: With the victory over Seton Hall, head coach Debbie Brown has now won 500 career matches in her 22-year career. She becomes only the 28th NCAA volleyball coach to ever attain 500 or more victories in a career.
A MEDIA FRIENDLY TEAM: For the second time this season, Notre Dame volleyball made a television appearance on Sept. 9. The Irish-Northern Iowa match was taped delayed and shown on Mediacom, a local cable station in Iowa. The first was the CSTV match against then No. 13 Missouri. Unfortunately both matches were thrilling five-game sets that have not ended up in Notre Dame’s favor. The Irish have five more matches on TV. Comcast Local will show Notre Dame’s home matches against DePaul on Oct. 13 and St. John’s on Oct. 22. Further, Notre Dame’s road game against Louisville on Oct. 29 is schedule to be shown on ESPNU. Also both matches in Hawai’i on Oct. 16-17 will be shown by a local Hawai’i television station (KFVE). If you count the two matches from earlier this season that seven regular season total matches on television for the year.
A NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN: Sophomore Justine Stremick controlled the action around the net against Idaho in the Shamrock Invitational. She tallied 14 blocks, including 11 block assists against the Vandals. Her 14 blocks in the four-game match is tied with Mary Kay Waller for the third most blocks by an ND blocker.
NOTRE DAME IN SEASON OPENERS: With a three game sweep of Bowling Green this season, Notre Dame has won its lidlifter for 16 consecutive season, every year since head coach Debbie Brown arrived on campus. The last time the Irish started the season 0-1 was in 1990, when they lost in four games to Montana in the Washington State Invitational.
NEW LEADERS: With the graduation of both captains from last season, the Notre Dame volleyball team has chosen two new leaders for this season. The new captains are senior Danielle Herndon and junior Adrianna Stasiuk.
WHO’S BACK? The Notre Dame volleyball team returns three starter and seven monogram winners from last year’s squad. Among the returnees, besides Herndon and Stasiuk, is all-time single season assist record holder (1,573) junior setter Ashley Tarutis. Also returning is junior outside hitter Ellen Heintzman, and sophomores Madison Clark, Mallorie Croal and Justine Stremick.
NEW FACES: The Notre Dame volleyball team has reloaded with six highly touted freshman vying for playing time this season. The freshmen this year are Tara Enzweiler, Megan Fesl, Christina Kaelin, Kim Kristoff, Jamel Nicholas and Serinity Phillips.
IRISH ARE THE BIG EAST FAVORITE: For the 11th time in 12 seasons as a member of the BIG EAST, Notre Dame volleyball program was chosen as the preseason favorite in the BIG EAST Conference. The only season Notre Dame was not chosen as the favorite since entering the league was last season’s second place prediction.
HONORS AND SELECTIONS: Junior outside hitter Adrianna Stasiuk and junior setter Ashley Tarutis were both chosen for the preseason All BIG-EAST squad.
Christina Kaelin was named the BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Aug. 28 and Sept. 4.
Justine Stremick and Christina Kaelin were both named to the Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament Team on Sept. 2.
Danielle Herndon was a member of the UNI Invitational All-Tournament Team, Sept. 9.
Adrianna Stasiuk and Justine Stremick both took home some hardware from the Courtyard by Marriott Classic. Stasiuk was named the Co-Best Attacker of the Tournament while Stremick was named the Best Blocker.
Adrianna Stasiuk was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week for the second time in her career on Sept. 25.
Serinity Phillips was the BIG EAST ROOKIE of the Week on Oct. 9.
HOME FOOTBALL WEEKENDS: For the sixth time in seven years, the Notre Dame volleyball team plays matches this season that will precede football pep rallies. The Irish started the home portion of BIG EAST play against Marquette with a 3-1 win on Oct. 6. The match was the first of the two pre-pep rally matches for Notre Dame. Also on the schedule this season, the Connecticut match on Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. will take place before the pep rally for the UCLA game.
ALL BY HERSELF: Senior Danielle Herndon is the lone senior on the 13-person team this season, which is the first time since 1983 (Terese Henken) that the Irish have only had one senior on the team.
AN EXCEPTIONAL CLASS: The six student-athletes who comprise the freshman class for the University of Notre Dame women’s volleyball team this season – MB Tara Enzweiler, OH/OPP Megan Fesl, OH Christina Kaelin, MB Kim Kristoff, S Jamel Nicholas and OH/OPP Serinity Phillips – earned high praise before even stepping on campus, as two publications ranked the group among the five best in the country. Volleyball magazine had Notre Dame third on its list of top recruiting classes appearing in the August issue, while PrepVolleyball.com placed the Irish fifth on a similar list. These cap off the accolades received by the group, which features four PrepVolleyball.com high school All-Americans, three Volleyball magazine Fab 50 selections, and two Gatorade State Players of the Year for volleyball.
Fesl, Kaelin, and Kristoff were on Volleyball’s Girls Fab 50 list of the top high school seniors in the nation, announced in April. It is the first time since 1997 (Denise Boylan, Christi Girton, and Jo Jameyson) – and just the third time ever – that Notre Dame has had three Fab 50 picks in the same class. The other instance was the 1994 group of Angie Harris, Jaimie Lee, and Carey May. The Irish are one of only five schools that have three or more on the Fab 50 list, joining Penn State (four), Pepperdine (three), Texas A&M (three), and Wisconsin (three). Notre Dame has now had 23 players earn Fab 50 designation since 1990, including at least one in 11 of the last 13 years.
SHE’S THE BOSS: Irish head coach Debbie Brown is now in her 16th season as the leader of the Notre Dame volleyball program. She has led the Irish to a 385-127 mark (.752), while holding an overall record of 502-210 (.705). Brown’s Notre Dame teams have earned 14 consecutive NCAA tournament bids, advancing to the quarterfinals in 1993 and the round of 16 in ’94, ’95, and ’97. Her squads have won 20 or more matches 13 times. A 10-time conference coach of the year and the only five-time BIG EAST coach of the year (4 in the Midwestern Collegiate and one in the Pac-10), she has coached 12 Irish players to All-American honors. The Irish have also claimed 14 regular season conference titles (4 Midwestern Collegiate, 10 BIG EAST) and 13 league tournament titles (4 MCC, 9 BIG EAST) under her watch. A co-captain of the 1980 U.S Olympic volleyball team after winning a pair of national championships and earning All-American honors twice while playing at USC, Brown graduated from Arizona State in 1982 and coached her alma mater from 1983-88, helping the Sun Devils to five NCAA Tournaments.
A NEW MAN IN PLACE: The Fighting Irish in 2006 will have a new assistant coach in place as Greg Smith, formerly the head man at Virginia Tech, has joined the Notre Dame volleyball family this season. Smith compiled a record of 81-94 (463), including 37-38 (.493) in his five years in command of the Hokies. Smith replaces Robin Davis who took the head position at Boise State. Also joining the volleyball coaching staff, as volunteer assistant is Kevin Lane. Lane is an experienced coach on several levels having most recently spent time at Indiana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne, aiding the Mastodons to a runner-up finish at the National Independent University Tournament.
AN IMPRESSIVE STREAK: Notre Dame’s current 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances is behind only seven other schools nationally (Stanford (25), Penn State (25), UC Santa Barbara (25), Nebraska (24), Long Beach State (19), USC (15) and Florida (15)) for consecutive appearances in the Big Dance.
HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame’s Joyce Center has become one of the most difficult places in the nation for road teams to win at, especially since the arrival of head coach Debbie Brown in 1991. Over the last 16 seasons, Notre Dame has posted a 185-31 record (.857) home record. The Irish have put together some impressive winning streaks on the home court, winning 14 or more matches in a row at home on five different occasions, highlighted by a streak of 27 (1993-95), and 36 (2000-02) straight home victories. Notre Dame also won 74 in a row in regular season action against conference opposition from 1991-2004. On 15 different occasions Notre Dame has topped a ranked team at the Joyce Center, including five upsets of teams ranked in the top-10. During the Brown era Notre Dame holds a home record of 176-10 (.947) against unranked teams at home.
CLASS OF THE CONFERENCE: Notre Dame has experienced unprecedented success in the 11 years since joining the league in 1995. The Irish have compiled a 125-7 (.947) regular season mark, highlighted by 10 titles and winning streaks of 45 and 35 consecutive matches. Notre Dame is 69-1 (.985) in BIG EAST regular-season contests in the Joyce Center. The Irish have won nine BIG EAST tournament championships, posting a mark of 22-2 (.917) in the event and reaching the final every season. The Fighting Irish have also dominated the conference awards; winning player-of the-year honors six times and coach-of-the-year five times. On nine occasions an Irish player has been named to the league tournament’s most outstanding player. Also, Notre Dame players have taken home 40 all-conference accolades, including 24 first team honors.
KEEPING UP WITH VOLLEYBALL: For the fastest results of Notre Dame volleyball matches call the Notre Dame sports hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #5 and #1. The hotline provides schedules and results information for all Irish varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the match recaps and weekly releases provided on the official athletic website at www.und.com. In addition, media members and fans can be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting sports information assistant Joe Prisco, at prisco.3@nd.edu. All requests for story ideas, interview access, match credentials and further information on Irish volleyball should also be directed to Prisco. Credential and interview requests should be made at least 24 hours in advance.
UP NEXT: The Irish will have a quick turn around after returning from Hawai’i. Notre Dame will have a weekend of BIG EAST Conference action as the Irish take on Connecticut at 4 p.m. at the Joyce Center on Oct. 20 and then take on St. John’s in a 2 p.m. match on Oct. 22 also at the Joyce Center. The St. John’s match will be a television match shown by Comcast Local.