Megan OConnell,
Erin Jones and
Abby Lewis combined for 56 kills in a big Redbird comeback which fell just a bit short as No. 24 Notre Dame won its 20th straight home match 30-23, 35-33, 27-30, 27-30, 15-11 over Illinois State.
OConnell, who had missed three matches after a concussion, had 19 kills, all in the last four games. Jones matched OConnells kill total and added 21 digs. Lewis had a career-high 18 kills to go with 18 digs of her own. Becky Weber returned from left-side hitter to setter in game two, finishing with 17 digs, 46 set assists and 5 kills.
Despite the loss, Redbird coach
Sharon Dingman was pleased with how her team responded against a powerful Notre Dame team, now 19-5, which had lost just two games in 11 previous matches at home this season.
It was a fun volleyball match, said Dingman. Im pleased with how hard we competed. We had a great opportunity to beat an outstanding team.
OConnell, the Redbirds kill leader this season, impressed Dingman, who used 12 players in the match.
The one good thing we knew was that Mo had fresh legs after her layoff, said Dingman. We were right. She came back with a flurry. She and Erin Jones had a great night. Our outside hitters really gave us everything they had tonight.
Dingman wanted more from her back-row players and got a career performance from
Wendi Roesch, who had career highs with 17 digs and 4 service aces.
I challenged our defensive specialists to earn their time on the court, said Dingman. We changed the form on Wendis serve after the season started and she served like a champion tonight. I dont think weve played this well in quite some time. When we decide to stay tough and play physical we can compete with anybody.
The vaunted Irish block reared its head in game one. Notre Dame had seven blocking points ot just one for the Redbirds, the biggest difference in game one. Malinda Goralski had a hand in five of those blocks. Jones and Lewis. hd four kills apiece.
OConnell saw her first action io four matches in game one, and exploded for eight kills in game two. Lewis had seven kills and the Redbirds hit .304 for the game. ISU came from 15-10 behind to a 15-15 tie, then rallied from down 27-25 to up 28-27 when
Megan Stephenson, another non-starter, drilled an overpass for a kill. ISU was at game point 29-28 and 31-30, but couldnt convert. The last of Bomhacks eight kills in that game gave Notre Dame a 2-0 lead in the match.
Notre Dame had a 24-19 lead in game three when Stephenson hammered an overpass to start the Redbirds on an 11-3 run to finish that game. Stephenson had three kills and a block during that spread, which featured strong serving by Jones and Roesch. ISU finished with three straight points including kills by OConnell and
Jenny Kabbes.
The Irish took a 15-8 lead in game four, but again, ISU charged back with Stephenson picking up four straight kills in a 20-7 run. Stephenson, who had 11 kills in 19 attempts without an error, also had 3 key blocks and sent the match to game five. The Irish got two early tipped kills and the last three of 17 blocks for the match to take a 6-1 lead in the final game. ISU got within three on four occasions after that, but Notre Dame was able to finish.
Illinois State finishes the regular season with back-to-back matches against Indiana State, with Saturdays 7 p.m. match in Redbird Arena and Sundays 4 p.m. (central time) match in Terre Haute.
