Aug. 11, 2005
The University of Notre Dame women’s volleyball team will have its Sept. 3 match against #11 Texas in the Joyce Center (5 p.m. EST/CDT) shown by College Sports Television (CSTV), while the final of the BIG EAST Championship (Nov. 20 in Louisville) – which has included the Irish in each of the last 10 seasons – also will be part of the NCAA Volleyball on CSTV: AVCA Match of the Week series, the network announced yesterday. Notre Dame is one of just 10 schools that have been tabbed by CSTV to be included in the regular-season portion of its match-of-the-week package in all three years of its existence.
CSTV announced plans to televise a total of 32 matches prior to the NCAA Championship, a significant increase in its college volleyball coverage. The network will return to the Joyce Center following a 2003 contest in which Notre Dame defeated then-league-rival Miami in three games in front of a crowd of 2,715 (which still stands as the largest-ever volleyball crowd in facility history for a match not taking place prior to a football pep rally). Last season, Notre Dame’s tilt at South Carolina in the Gamecock Invitational, a four-game USC triumph, was televised by CSTV. The only other schools who have been a part of all three seasons of CSTV’s match-of-the-week series (identified with ’05 preseason national rankings) are #1 Nebraska, #3 Stanford, #4 Hawai’i, #8 Florida, #11 Texas, #22 Colorado State, #25 Pepperdine, Santa Clara, and Utah.
Texas will be visiting the Joyce Center – where the Longhorns are unbeaten in two previous trips – for the first time since 1995 to take part in The Inn at Saint Mary’s Shamrock Invitational. In the last meeting between the teams, Notre Dame beat UT in three games to win the 2003 Longhorn Classic. The match will be shown on a tape-delayed basis by CSTV on Sunday, Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. EDT (5 p.m. in South Bend).
With the league’s expansion to 15 volleyball teams, the BIG EAST Championship expands this season to an eight-team format that will take place from Nov. 18-20 at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville. Notre Dame has reached the final in all 10 years since becoming a league member, winning eight championships. In 2004, the Irish beat Pittsburgh in three games on the Panthers’ home floor. ND was picked by conference coaches to finish second in the league this year behind newcomer #14 Louisville. This year’s final will be televised live at 3 p.m. EDT (3 p.m. in South Bend) as part of a tripleheader of conference finals, as the Conference USA and Patriot League championships will follow.
This season will continue a recent trend of increasing television exposure for the Irish. Notre Dame had three of its matches (on the road vs. South Carolina, Michigan, and Brigham Young) televised in 2004 after appearing on CSTV in ’03. This season, the Irish also will see their final regular-season contest, a Nov. 26 showdown with #9 Tennessee in the inaugural Irish Thanksgiving Invitational in the Joyce Center, televised by Comcast Sports Net.
This year’s Notre Dame squad returns nine of its top 10 players – and all but one starter – from last year’s team that was 21-9, won the BIG EAST regular-season and tournament championships, and advanced to the second round of the NCAAs. The ’05 Irish are the second team receiving votes outside of the top 25 in the preseason AVCA national poll.
Tickets for all 2005 Irish home matches are available via the Notre Dame ticket office at (574) 631-7356 and can be purchased online this season for the first time, at und.com.
For more information on CSTV, including the full lineup of 2005 college volleyball, see cstv.com.