Aug. 29, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – No. 18 Arizona defeated Notre Dame in three sets during non-conference volleyball action Sunday at Purcell Pavilion to wrap up the Shamrock Invitational presented by Hyatt Place. The 3-0 (25-15, 25-18, 25-20) win for Arizona improved its record to 2-1, as Notre Dame also finished the weekend at 2-1.
Notre Dame now looks ahead to the Nevada Invitational next week in Reno, Nev., where it will play against Belmont (Sept. 3), Weber State (Sept. 4) and Nevada (Sept. 4).
Freshman Andrea McHugh led Notre Dame with 12 kills and senior Kellie Sciacca tacked on 10 more. Sciacca finished the weekend with 4.00 kills/set and a .429 hitting pct. McHugh averaged 3.08 kills/set and 3.17 digs/set across the same stretch.
McHugh had Notre Dame’s only ace against Arizona and junior Frenchy Silva had a team-high six digs.
Arizona received 16 kills from Tiffany Owens, who hit .519 with two errors on 27 swings. Whitney Dosty had 12 kills and Cursty Jackson led all players with four blocks.
The Wildcats hit .351 for the contest and .467 in the opening set as Dotsy laid down seven kills. McHugh had five kills for the Irish and added six more in the second frame. Staring at a 7-7 tie, Arizona went on a 10-3 run to take control of the initial stanza.
Set two played out almost the same way for the visitors, as the score was deadlocked at 10-10 when the Wildcats rolled out with a 10-4 spurt.
Things were looking good for the Irish in the third set and three freshmen – Sammie Brown, Nicole Smith and McHugh – were on the court for the opening serve. Sciacca’s seven kills helped Notre Dame build a 19-15 cushion, but Arizona fed Owens for five kills to score eight unanswered points and 10 of the last 11 for the win.
–ND–