Irish stay perfect in Big East play
By MATT OLIVA
Sports Writer
The Notre Dame volleyball team kept its perfect conference record this weekend with wins over Rutgers and Seton Hall.
The Irish (10-4, 4-0) are the only undefeated team in the Big East after beating previously undefeated Rutgers on Saturday.
In the match between the two undefeated teams in the conference, the Irish dominated. They knocked off the Scarlet Knights 15-7, 15-9, 15-7, and dropped Rutgers' record to 9-10 overall and 2-1 in conference.
Senior middle blocker Mary Leffers and junior outside hitter Jo Jameyson led the powerful attack of the Irish.
Leffers, a captain, totaled 14 kills and seven blocks, while Jameyson added 13 kills. The two Irish players finished perfect offensively, recording no hitting errors and finishing with career high hitting percentages of .737 and .722 respectively.
"Mary, Jo, and Christi Girton really played great matches," said Irish defensive specialist Keara Coughlin. "We have tried to speed up on offense and show domination for the Big East. We were successful and had a lot of good statistics offensively. One of our keys is running plays that they aren't expecting, against the flow, and it really came together this weekend."
The Irish also played tough defensively, holding Rutgers to single digit scoring in all three games. Coughlin and Girton recorded 11 digs each, while junior setter Denise Boylan contributed 38 assists.
The Irish allowed three Rutgers players to finish with double figures in kills, led by Lola Opadiran's 14 kills. However, Notre Dame outhit the Scarlet Knights .358 to .135.
"We have been working on not allowing more than one point at a time for the other team," said Coughlin. "Our defense really stepped it up this weekend."
On Sunday, the Irish continued their winning ways with another convincing victory.
Seton Hall was no match, as Notre Dame prevailed in three games 15-4, 15-6, and 15-5. The loss dropped the Pirates record to 10-8 overall, and gave them their third conference loss in four matches.
The Irish were led offensively by Girton in this match. The junior outside hitter tallied a match-high 19 kills and .467 hitting percentage.
Leffers again was a force offensively, adding 10 kills for the Irish, while co-captain Boylan contributed 39 assists.
Notre Dame finished with a team hitting percentage of .421, while allowing the Seton Hall only a team hitting percentage of .075.
Paige Ellerton finished with the best offensive effort for the Pirates, totaling eight kills in the match.
"It is definitely a goal of ours to continue to play at the same level and never dropping down to maybe a lesser opponents level," said Coughlin. "We want to keep it at a high intensity, especially in the Big East."
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, October 12, 1999
