Irish top No. 10 Pepperdine, win Golden Dome Invite
By: CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Editor
The Notre Dame volleyball team accomplished a feat it hadn't in seven years — the defeat of a top 10 opponent.
The Irish knocked off No. 10 Pepperdine Saturday night 30-32, 30-24, 29-31, 30-25, 15-10 to sweep the Golden Dome Invitational, their second tournament title of the young season.
Notre Dame also won the Shamrock Invitational two weeks ago, when the team swept through its three games in the Joyce Center for the victory.
"It is a huge win for us," Irish head coach Debbie Brown said. "We played with tremendous poise. We lost by two points in each of the games we dropped, but the team did not fold. Losing games one and three is the hardest way to get to a five-game victory, but our team showed its character and played very well."
The marathon Irish victory came in large part from the strong hitting performance of middle blocker Katie Neff. The junior had 21 kills and a .409 hitting percentage and added 5 blocks at the net for the Irish defense.
"Katie was outstanding all weekend," Brown said. "She had a great spring and was one of our most improved players. This weekend she had the opportunity to step up, and she seized it."
Sophomore Emily Loomis paced the squad with 22 kills, while outside hitter Jessica Kinder led the team in digs with 22.
Setter Kristen Kinder continued to provide the catalyst for the Irish offense with a team-high 67 assists.
The Irish opened play in the tournament Friday afternoon against Northwestern with a quick three-set victory 30-28, 30-26, 30-21.
Neff set the standard for hitting in the match with an impressive .526 hitting percentage and 11 kills. Kristen Kinder contributed 33 assists to the offensive production and had nine digs.
In their second match of tournament play Saturday morning, the Irish cruised to an easy victory over Loyola College 30-17, 30-16, 30-14, hitting an impressive .374 as a team. Jessica Kinder lead the team's offensive production with 14 kills.
Notre Dame moved to 8-2 on the season with the three wins over the weekend and extended its current streak of victories at home to 28 games.
Notes:
The Irish placed four players on the all-tournament team: MVP Katie Neff, Jessica Kinder, Kristen Kinder and Emily Loomis.
The last time the Irish defeated an opponent in the top 10 was Sept. 2, 1995, against No. 9 University of Southern California.
All Sports Stories for Monday, September 16, 2002
