Volleyball Loses Fight Against Irish, 3-1

Oct. 6, 2006

NOTRE DAME, IND. - The Marquette volleyball team dropped its second BIG EAST match of the season, Friday afternoon, to Notre Dame, 3-1 (30-17, 30-17, 21-30, 30-24), at the Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Ind. The Golden Eagles fell to 7-9 overall and 3-2 in the conference, while the Fighting Irish remained a perfect 4-0 in BIG EAST action, improving to 10-5 overall on the season.

Strong hitting and a fierce defense around the net gave Notre Dame the advantage early in game one as it jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Junior Tiffany Helmbrecht answered for Marquette with a slam to cut the early deficit to three at 6-3 as the Golden Eagles tried to keep the frame close. Almost immediately, however, ND began pulling away as it took a seven-point lead at 11-4, and then a 10-point advantage at 21-11, forcing an MU timeout. Notre Dame continued its dominance, going up by as much as 13 out of the break at 25-12. A 4-0 run late, capped on a kill by freshman Leslie Bielski, gave Marquette hope, down nine at 25-16, but the Irish dispelled any thoughts of a Golden Eagles' comeback, scoring five of the final six points to win game one, 30-17.

Senior Kimberley Todd led MU with three kills, which was out hit by ND 42.4 - 15.8 percent in the opener.

The Fighting Irish continued their momentum in game two as they took a 5-1 lead for the second-straight game. A kill by Helmbrecht cut the lead to two at 7-5, but immediately after, Notre Dame went on a 6-0 run to take 13-5 lead. ND increased its lead to 11 at 20-9, following five consecutive points, prompting an MU timeout. The Golden Eagles would not get any closer as the Irish went up by as much as 14 at 28-14, before taking a 2-0 lead in the match with a 30-17 victory in the frame.

Todd tallied four kills to lead Marquette for the second-straight frame.

Game three started much more promising for the Golden Eagles, who took their first lead of the match, going ahead 5-4 on a hitting error by the Irish. Marquette remained close to Notre Dame, taking its fourth lead of the game at 17-16 on an assisted block by Bielski and junior Jenn Brown. MU took its first commanding lead of the day after a 5-0 run put it up by six at 24-18 on a kill by Brown. The Golden Eagles increased their lead to seven at 28-21 when the Irish used their second timeout. Out of the break, two hitting errors by ND sealed the victory for MU, 30-21.

Helmbrecht and Todd each registered four kills in the frame for the Golden Eagles, who out hit the Fighting Irish 31.0 - 7.8 percent in the game.

With an added boost of confidence, Marquette stormed out to a 6-0 lead in game four as Notre Dame used an early timeout. Bielski registered a kill and three blocks in the run for the Golden Eagles. Following a timeout, the Fighting Irish rallied with four points to cut the lead to two at 6-4, before tying the game at 7-7 and taking the lead at 8-7 on an ace. Three consecutive kills by Todd regained the lead for MU as it went back ahead 10-8. ND went back ahead, 13-12, and was soon up by four, 16-12, after a 6-0 run. It increased its lead to five at 20-15, prompting an MU timeout. Marquette called its second timeout, down 25-19, and rallied out of the break to cut its deficit to three at 27-24 on a kill by Brown. Notre Dame scored the final three points, however, winning the game 30-24.

Todd recorded a match-high 18 kills and is now 15 from the 1,000-kill mark.

Mueller led the MU with 29 digs in the losing effort, and Bielski was tops with seven blocks (1 BS, 6 BA).

The Golden Eagles will make their second attempt at the program's 500th victory when they conclude the weekend's action with a match against the DePaul Blue Demons, Sunday, at 3 p.m., in Chicago.