Notre Dame Downs Valparaiso in NCAA Volleyball
December 03, 2004 | Volleyball
The Notre Dame volleyball team downed Valparaiso 30-21, 20-30, 30-28, 30-20 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday evening at the University of Wisconsin Field House. The Irish improve to 21-8 overall while the Crusaders finish their season at a 29-5 mark.
Notre Dame and Valparaiso were evenly matched in kills with the Crusaders holding the narrow 64-63 lead. The Irish nearly doubled their opponents in hitting percentage with a .249 clip compared to the Crusaders, who hit .132 in the match.
Emily Loomis, Adrianna Stasiuk and Lauren Brewster all paced Notre Dame with 14 kills apiece. Lauren Kelbley also notched double-figure kills for the Irish with 11.
Lauren Moulton led Valpo, also putting down 14 slams. Four other Crusaders ' Jessie Fox, Liz Mikos, Amy Palash and Katie Bova ' also had double-digit kills in the match.
Bova recorded a triple-double in the match with 10 kills, 44 assists and 18 digs.
Blocking proved to make a difference in the match as the Irish out-blocked the Crusaders 16-5, including eight blocks in game one alone. Brewster led all players with 10 block assists and one block solo. Loomis added double-figure blocks with 10.
Defensively, Valparaiso held an 89-72 advantage in digs, led by Sara Silcox with 21. Palash, Jessi Novak, Bova and Lindsey Moore also finished the match with double-digit saves for the Crusaders. Notre Dame's Meg Henican recorded a match-high 27 digs in the match.
Notre Dame advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament to take on the winner of the Wisconsin vs. Loyola (Ill.) match Saturday at 7 p.m. CT.
