Notre Dame lost its Big East opener Saturday against Pittsburgh in four tough games but rebounded to beat West Virginia the next day in Morgantown.
The Irish forced every losing game against the Panthers into extra points in the 3-1 (33-31, 32-30, 23-30, 42-40) loss.
The fourth game included 27 ties and 15 lead changes - and 82 points between the two teams.
Irish senior Adrianna Stasiuk, starting the game at the libero position, tied her season best with 21 digs to go along with 14 kills. Freshman middle blocker Kellie Sciacca and sophomore outside hitter Serinity Phillips also added 14 kills each. Senior setter Ashley Tarutis paced the Irish with 45 assists and sophomore setter Jamel Nicholas added 21 helpers of her own.
Junior outside hitter Kelly Campbell's 30 kills led the Panthers offense. Senior outside hitter Diana Andreyko also played a major role in Pittsburgh's win, with 21 kills and 19 digs. Junior setter Nicole Taurence paced the Panthers with 47 assists; she also added nine digs.
The Irish (5-7, 1-1) beat West Virginia 3-1 (30-19, 23-30, 30-27, 30-27) Sunday.
The game against the Mountaineers saw Stasiuk climb to fifth in career digs in Notre Dame history. She recorded 17 in another start at libero to put her total at 1,268.
But Phillips and Tarutis were the stars in the match. Phillips recorded a career-high and 23 kills and 11 digs, while Tarutis aided the effort with 44 assists, 13 digs and six kills. Sophomore outside hitter Megan Fesl added seven kills and nine digs of her own. Junior middle blocker Justine Stremick and Sciacca notched 8 kills each while Stasiuk also had nine.
West Virginia (9-4, 1-1) was led by the stellar play of senior outside hitter Abby Tevis who recorded 18 kills and 21 digs. Senior setter Kailee Goold also played well with 43 assists, 16 digs and 6 kills while freshman libero Bonnie West added 16 digs.
Notre Dame continues its Big East schedule at home Sept. 29 versus Seton Hall and Sept. 30 against Villanova.
