Oct. 3, 2010
GEORGETOWN, Md. – Notre Dame picked up a 3-0 (25-13, 25-22, 25-19) BIG EAST Conference road volleyball win Sunday at Georgetown to improve to 11-5 overall and 4-0 in league play. The Irish were paced by freshman Andrea McHugh’s 19 kills while senior Kellie Sciacca added 11.
The win at McDonough Gym was the fourth straight for Notre Dame, as each came in the form of 3-0 league sweeps. Notre Dame’s regular-season conference winning streak also bumped ahead to 19, the eighth-best in the nation.
Notre Dame stays on the road for two more conference matches next week at Louisville (Oct. 9) and Cincinnati (Oct. 10). The start time for the Louisville match has been moved to 10:00 a.m. (ET) while the bout with the Bearcats will be televised live on ESPNU at 5:00 p.m.
Freshman Sammie Brown dished out 36 of Notre Dame’s 40 assists as the team hit .383, including a .565 mark in the first set. McHugh hit .562 and Sciacca recorded a .450 average. Freshman Sam Brown had four kills on seven swings (.429) and Hillary Eppink had five kills on a .300 clip.
Juniors Frenchy Silva (13) and Kristen Dealy (12) led Notre Dame in digs, while Sam Brown and Eppink each had three blocks.
Three players – Kortney Robinson, Samantha Trauth and Brooke Bachesta – had seven kills apiece for Georgetown (12-8, 2-2), who hit .231 on the day.
The Irish led from wire-to-wire in the first set behind two early Sam Brown kills and back-to-back aces from Silva. Sitting on a 6-1 lead, the Irish went on top by nine on McHugh’s first kill of the set (12-3). Sciacca’s second kill put Notre Dame ahead, 20-10, and then Sammie Brown ended the set with one of Notre Dame’s seven aces in the contest.
McHugh and Sciacca each went for six kills in the second, and Georgetown showed signs of presenting a challenge by tying the score seven times. The Hoyas went on top, 10-6, on a Lindsay Wise kill but Notre Dame scored the next five and Georgetown would not see the lead again. The home team did, however, fight back to close within one (23-22) before a service and attack error gave Notre Dame its final two points heading into the break.
Notre Dame found McHugh nine times for kills in the third set, as she was errorless on 11 attacks (.818). The only tie came at 1-1, and the Irish bounced three straight kills to make it a 9-5 contest to put the set out of reach. Sciacca had three kills and Robinson had a team-high four for Georgetown.
–ND–