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Volleyball Takes Down Notre Dame, 3-1
Sept. 9, 2007
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The No. 13 Ohio volleyball team used an outstanding team performance Sunday afternoon to defeat host Notre Dame 3-1 (30-26, 25-30, 30-28, 30-23) and capture the Shamrock Invitational title. Senior outside hitter Stephanie Blackburn (Cincinnati, Ohio) was named tournament MVP, posting her third double-double of the season with 20 kills and 11 digs, but the Bobcats' win was the result of a total team effort. The match was close throughout, but Ohio (6-2) had players stepping up at every position, which proved too much for the Fighting Irish (3-4) to overcome. Freshman setter Michelle Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kansas) was among the players who played well, doing a little bit of everything for the Bobcats, on her way to being named to the Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament Team. Janstch nearly recorded the first triple-double in over five years for the Bobcats, totaling a team season-high 59 assists, seven kills and eight digs. Sophomore middle blocker Jane Sytsma (Madison, Wis.) joined Jantsch on the all-tournament team, collecting six total blocks, six kills and two digs in the match. Sophomore outside hitter Ellen Herman (Toledo, Ohio) was not named to the all-tournament team, despite tallying a match-high 26 kills on a .309 hitting percentage and adding 13 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Senior middle blocker Melissa Griffin (Whitehall, Mich.) tied a season-high with 16 kills on a .353 hitting percentage for the Bobcats. Ohio doubled Notre Dame's kill total in the opening game, connecting on 22 kills to the Fighting Irish's 11, en route to a 30-26 victory. The Bobcats led 12-11 to open the game and used a 13-2 run to take a controlling 25-13 advantage. Notre Dame ended the run and worked its way back into the game by scoring the following four points, moving the score to 26-19. Ohio ran off the next three points, setting up game point for the Bobcats at 29-19, but Notre Dame was not finished. The Fighting Irish put a scare into Ohio, scoring seven straight points, to bring the game to 29-26. Griffin ended the rally, connecting on one of her seven first-game kills to give Ohio the four-point win in game one. In the second game Notre Dame took advantage of Ohio miscues to win 30-25, tying the match at 1-1. The Bobcats committed 11 attack errors and three service errors in the game. Notre Dame held Ohio to a .128 hitting percentage in the game, as the Fighting Irish totaled seven blocks. Despite Ohio's mistakes, the two teams were separated by a few points the entire game, until Notre Dame scored two consecutive points on back-to-back blocks to take its largest lead of the game at 25-21. Ohio responded, scoring the following three points to cut the deficit to one. The Bobcats' spurt ended there, as Notre Dame won five of the next six points to win the game. In the third game the Bobcats out-hit Notre Dame .244 to .159 to earn a close, 30-28 victory. Blackburn led Ohio with six kills, including two during a critical four point run at the end of the game. The Bobcats trailed by a point at 26-25, when Blackburn slammed two kills, Sytsma and Jantsch blocked a Notre Dame attack and Sytsma followed with a kill of her own, putting the Bobcats in front 29-26. Notre Dame tallied the next two points, before Blackburn supplied another kill to score the game point and give Ohio a 2-1 lead. The Bobcats trailed 6-5 to start the fourth game, but quickly regained the lead and never gave it back, winning 30-23. Ohio had an impressive .513 hitting percentage in the game, with 23 kills on 39 attack attempts, while committing just three errors. Ohio will wrap up the tournament portion of its schedule this upcoming weekend at the Denver Pioneer Classic. On Friday, Sept. 14 the Bobcats open the tournament against host Denver at 1 p.m. and then take the court later that night against Washington State at 7 p.m. Ohio's final match of the tournament is Saturday, Sept. 15 against Washington State at 7 p.m. Shamrock Invitational All-Tournament Team |
