The Irish took part in their own battle this weekend at the Nevada Invitational and came out with two wins and a loss, defeating Belmont Friday and Weber State Saturday morning, before falling to Nevada l that night.
Senior middle blocker and outside hitter Kellie Sciacca and freshman outside hitter Andrea McHugh were both named to the all-tournament team. Sciacca hit .338 with a 2.46 kills per set average and 1.31 block per set while McHugh had 3.31 kills per set, 2 digs per set and a team-high 52 points across the three matches.
Notre Dame (4-2) led host Nevada 2-1 early in its final match, but was unable to follow through like its earlier victories, ultimately losing 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 11-25, 25-15, 25-17). The Irish limited the Wolf Pack to just 11 points in the third period, yet were unable to take the final set after two lead changes and multiple errors.
Notre Dame posted a hitting average of .205 to Nevada's .188 in the match, but was out-blocked 18.5 to 13.
Despite the loss, several Irish players posted impressive numbers from the match. Junior outside hitter Kristen Dealy contributed 19 kills, 15 digs and three blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Marie Roof had two aces. On the defensive side, junior libero Frenchy Silva had 12 digs, and freshman setter Sammie Brown had 47 of the team's 54 assists.
Earlier in the day, the Irish swept Weber State in three straight sets (25-14, 25-15, 25-17), their first sweep of the season. Notre Dame hit .323, .429 and .357 respectively, while holding Weber State to marks of -.038, .000 and .094.
The Irish out-blocked Weber State 15 to two, with sophomore middle blocker Hilary Eppink earning eight blocks and Roof chipping in six.
Notre Dame outlasted Belmont 3-2 (25-18, 21-25, 21-25, 25-17, 15-9) Friday with help from Dealy, whose match-point conversion won the contest, her second winning conversion in five-set matches this season. Dealy added 14 kills and eight digs, while McHugh started the weekend off strong with 15 kills, two aces, five digs and five blocks.
The Irish are back on the road next weekend as they head to Denver to compete in the Pioneer Classic, where they will take on Gonzaga, Jacksonville State and Denver.
