Oct. 12, 2007

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - In front of a packed crowd at the Al McGuire Center, the Marquette volleyball team earned the program's first victory over Notre Dame in a huge 3-1 (30-26, 20-30, 30-25, 31-29) defeat of the Irish. The Golden Eagles improve to 7-8 overall and 4-2 in the BIG EAST.

Senior Kimberley Todd led a pack of three Golden Eagles earning double-figure kills. Todd posted her ninth double-double of the season with 18 kills and 18 digs. Junior Ashlee Fisher notched 14 kills and senior Jenn Brown netted 12 kills and a .409 clip. Junior Terri Angst collected 14 digs and senior Katie Weidner dished out 53 assists.

"This was a great stepping stone for our program tonight, we are building our own traditions here," head coach Pati Rolf said. "It was really nice for these girls they put so much heart into the game tonight. It was nice to see them stepping into the positions they were meant for, we just need to keep it up."

A solo block from Weidner opened game one as MU trailed 3-2. As the Irish continued to lead, a kill from Brown took the score to 11-9, but a block from Rabbecka Gonyo and Weidner tied the score at 12. The Golden Eagles earned their first lead, 15-14 on a Notre Dame error and jumped to a 20-16 advantage as Fisher slammed a kill. A tip from Weidner pushed the score to 22-19 in the Golden Eagles favor and a Weidner- Gonyo block kept MU ahead, 26-22. Angst earned the chance to serve for game point at 29-26, but the Golden Eagles would have to try again. A Notre Dame service error secured a game one victory for MU, 30-26. Fisher and Gonyo posted four kills apiece in the first game.

The second frame opened as the Irish charged out to an early 9-5 lead. Looking to regroup, MU called timeout trailing 11-5. Following the break, the Golden Eagles could still not find a rhythm and remained behind the Irish, 14-9. Gonyo slammed a kill to push the score to 17-12, but Notre Dame remained in the lead. Brown notched a kill to push the score to 24-16, and MU crept closer as the Irish hit consecutive errors. Back-to-back kills from Todd brought the Golden Eagles within five points at 25-20, and forced the Irish into a timeout. Notre Dame ran off four unanswered after the rest and earned game point at 30-20. Todd smashed four kills for MU in the second game.

The third stanza began strong for Marquette as they soared to an early 2-1 lead. The Irish pushed the score to four apiece, but MU reclaimed the lead on a kill from Todd. Trailing 8-6, Fisher smashed a kill for Marquette to pull within a point. The Irish continued to push the score in their favor and with a 15-11 lead forced MU to use a timeout. The break helped the Golden Eagles as they ran off consecutive kills and saw Notre Dame serve an error, then crept within a point at 17-16 on a block from Tiffany Helmbrecht. A kill by Todd took the score to 20-19, and a kill from Angst saw the score at 21-20. Marquette forced the Irish to call a timeout as they pulled within a point, 23-22. With tensions running high, MU called its final timeout, still trailing 25-23. Fisher smashed a kill following the break and Brown put up a solo block to tie the score at 25. MU grabbed the lead at 26-25 to force the Irish to call their final timeout, but that did not deter the Golden Eagles as an error from Notre Dame pressed the score to 27-25. A block from Helmbrecht and Brown gave MU a 28-25 lead and Hailey Viola served game point for MU at 29-25. Fisher smashed a kill to take the win, 30-25. Todd netted eight kills in the come-from-behind victory, and Fisher was solid with five of her own.

Marquette earned its first point in the fourth as Fisher continued where she left off and slammed a kill over the net, but the Irish remianed in a 3-1 lead. A kill from Todd pushed the score to 6-3 and MU earned another point on an ace from Brown. Gonyo tipped a kill over to tie the score at seven, and a Gonyo and Helmbrecht block gave the Golden Eagles their first lead at 8-7. Fisher netted a kill to tie the game at 12, and a kill from Brown gave Marquette a 14-12 advantage. After Notre Dame collected two unanswered, MU used its first timeout, but after trading points back-and-forth the game was tied at 17. A block from Helmbrect and Todd gave the Golden Eagles the 19-18 advantage as the teams remained close. Fisher kept MU in front with a kill and a Notre Dame error pushed the score to 22-20, but the Irish pushed back to tie at 22. As Notre Dame took a 24-23 lead, MU decided to talk things over and called its final timeout. The break helped MU as they ran off two unanswered and pressed the Irish to use their remaining timeout at 25-24. After a long volley, MU eanred another point on a block, but the Irish would not stop and tied the score at 26. A Brown kill put the Golden Eagles in front, 27-26, and Todd kept the advantage for Marquette at 28-27. A tip from Weidner put Todd in to position to serve for game point, but they would have to try again. Back into a 30-29 lead, Brown smashed a kill to give Marquette the match victory for the first-ever defeat of Notre Dame.

Adrianna Stasiuk led the Irish (7-9, 3-3) with a match-high 19 kills. Angela Puente collected 15 digs.

The Golden Eagles take the court again on Sunday, Oct. 14 when they host DePaul at 2 p.m. Rolf will be trying for her 400th career victory.