Nov. 14, 2010
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – Junior Kristen Dealy’s 20 kills were enough to help Notre Dame post a 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-17) BIG EAST Conference volleyball victory Sunday afternoon over Seton Hall at Walsh Gymnasium. The kill total was the highest by an Irish player in a three-setter since Christina Kaelin’s 24-kill outing Sept. 26, 2006, against Bowling Green.
Notre Dame enters next week’s BIG EAST Championship at Pittsburgh’s Fitzgerald Fieldhouse with a two-match winning streak. The fifth-seeded Irish will face fourth-seeded Villanova at 10:00 a.m. (ET) in a Nov. 19 quarterfinal matchup.
The Irish (17-11 overall, 10-4 BIG EAST) hit .267 and received 10 kills and 10 digs from freshman Andrea McHugh.
Freshman Maggie Brindock continued her strong weekend with 25 assists, five digs and four blocks.
Dealy nearly had a double-double in the first set, finishing with nine kills and 10 digs in the frame. She also finished the match with a pair of aces.
Dealy went on to post five kills on 15 swings with one error in the second and six kills on 14 faultless attempts in the third.
For the weekend, Dealy averaged 5.17 kills/set and 4.00 digs/set.
Sarah Osmun had 10 kills for Seton Hall (13-17, 7-7). The Pirates hit .183 and were held without a service ace.
Notre Dame held a 4-2 lead in the opener on a McHugh kill, but spotted the Pirates five free points on hitting errors. Trailing 7-5, Notre Dame traded runs with Seton Hall as the Pirates advanced with a pair of three-point cushions.
A Dealy ace tied the set at 20-20, and freshman Sam Brown came through with two kills to give the Irish set point at 24-21. Dealy was credited with the kill that wrapped up the set.
The Irish fell behind, 3-1, in the second before rolling out to a 10-7 lead. Back-to-back kills from Dealy gave Notre Dame a 14-10 edge, and her ace at 17-12 all but sealed the win for the Irish.
There were two early ties in the third, and Dealy gave the visitors a 9-3 lead with a converted strike.
Brindock and senior Kellie Sciacca teamed for a block at 19-11, creating the deciding margin of victory in the set. Ahead by five (22-17), Notre Dame scored the last three points of the match, capped off with an ace by freshman Sammie Brown.
–ND–