conference season
By RACHAEL PROTZMAN
The Notre Dame volleyball team ends its conference season this weekend as it travels to Syracuse.
"We are approaching this weekend with the mindset that we have one last job to do in our Big East season. We need to go in playing at our highest level in preparation to win not only the season championship, but also the tournament championship," said sophomore Keara Coughlin.
The Irish, 22-5 overall and 10-0 in the Big East, have secured the league title, but will look to remain undefeated in the Big East at 11-0 for the fifth time in six years. This will be the last chance that Syracuse has to get into the Big East Tournament.
"We can't allow ourselves to get in a slump in the middle of a game. We need to keep a competitive edge through three games to finish out the conference season," Coughlin said.
Syracuse, 23-9 overall and 6-4 in the conference, will look for its second win in history against the Irish, the first being in 1981. Notre Dame has since won seven games against the Orangewomen. Dana Fiume will look to pose a threat to the Irish defense by adding to her season total of 501 kills.
"Our blocking should be very good this weekend," said Coughlin. "All year we've been playing against very different types of competition and now that we're nearing the end of our season, all the aspects of our game should be better for it."
The Irish are coming off a victory in its last regular season match against St. Louis (15-5, 15-5, 15-10). Senior co-captain Christi Girton led the Irish with 15 kills and 11 digs while classmate Adrienne Shimmel set a career-high nine kills and five digs. Junior Kristy Kreher added 13 kills, six digs and four blocks.
"The St. Louis match was a lot of fun for the seniors. It was great for us as underclassmen to see the five of them go out on the court and play in a way that shows how valuable they are to the volleyball program," said Coughlin.
All Sports Stories for Friday, November 10, 2000
