Oct. 8, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind.- The University of Notre Dame (11-5, 5-0 BIG EAST) used a strong team effort to sweep Syracuse (7-17, 2-4 BIG EAST) on Sunday, Oct. 8 at the Joyce Center. The game scores went 30-25, 30-22, 30-22. The Irish have now won their last five matches and have swept five opponents this season.
Freshman outside hitter Serinity Phillips (Valley Center, Calif./Valley Center) led a solid defensive effort from the Irish squad with eight blocks. The eight blocks were a career-high and an impressive total for an outside hitter. Phillips also contributed 11 kills on a .333 hitting percentage in the victory. Sophomore middle blocker Justine Stremick (Langdon, N.D./Langdon Area) was another key opponent to the stout defense that limited the Orange to a hitting percentage of .107 and totaled 12 blocks. Stremick rejected five attempts and also tallied seven kills. Junior Adrianna Stasiuk (Park Ridge, Ill./Mane South) was the match leader with 15 kills to go along with 11 digs. For Stasiuk it was her 12th double-double of the season. Megan Fesl (Arlington Heights, Ill./John Hersey) just missed out on her fourth double-double of the season with 11 kills and nine digs on a .381 hitting percentage. Junior setter Ashley Tarutis (Long Beach Calif./Los Alamitos) led the squad in assists for the eighth time this season with 26, while also contributing 14 digs. Freshman setter Jamel Nicholas (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) had a steady performance with 22 helpers. For the 13th time this year, senior Danielle Herndon (Plant City, Fla./Durant) was the team leader with 24 digs.
The first game started off as a back and forth affair, with neither team able to open more than a two-point advantage, until a Stasiuk kill gave the Irish a 13-10 lead. Tarutis had a run of seven straight points as a server to extend Notre Dame’s lead to seven at 17-10. The lead grew to 11 on a kill from Stremick before Syracuse, thanks to 8-3 run, got to within six. Another Stasiuk kill finished off the game one Notre Dame victory.
The Irish, building on the momentum of the first game, started strong in the second game and had a 14-11 lead on a Phillips kill. Back-to-back kills from freshman Kim Kristoff (Carmel, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) and Phillips extended the Irish advantage to six. Two straight kills from Stasiuk gave the Irish an eight-point lead at 22-14. After Syracuse closed to within four, Stasiuk came up with the game-winning kill to give the Irish a 30-22 game two victory.
The third game was very competitive and close throughout. The Orange took a 13-11 lead on what was originally ruled a service ace from Jacki Kliment, but the point was nullified and reversed by the referee when Syracuse was ruled to have hit out of rotation. That was the last lead the Orange would have for the rest of the match. Syracuse would tie the game up on seven occasions up to the 19-point barrier, only to see Notre Dame rally and take the lead each time. Finally, the Irish took control of the match, as Phillips put down two kills in four possessions off the serves from sophomore Madison Clark (Sturgis, Mich./Sturgis) to give Notre Dame a six-point lead. An attack error from the Orange ended the game and gave Notre Dame an eight-point margin of victory in the third game.
The Irish finish their brief three-match home stand with a match against BIG EAST rival DePaul on Friday, Oct. 13 at 7 p.m. The match will also be taped-delayed and shown by Comcast Local.
Notes: Notre Dame is now 14-1 lifetime against Syracuse … after dropping their first two Sunday matches to start the season, the Irish have now won their last two Sunday matches … Stasiuk has led the team in kills in six of the last eight matches as the Irish have gone 7-1 in that period of time.