Volleyball Southern Conference

Cougars Fight Hard Against Fighting Irish but Fall 3-1

South Bend, Ind., -- Cougar Tara Greene nailed 21 kills to lead both schools but it was Notre Dame that came away with the 3-1 (23-30, 24-30, 30-28, 27-30) victory in NCAA volleyball tournament first-round action at the Joyce Center this evening.

Notre Dame jumped out to a 7-2 lead in the first game before the College of Charleston fought back to make it 11-8. The Fighting Irish responded with four straight points to take the lead to 15-8 before Tara Greene's kill stopped the run. Both teams would trade points with the Fighting Irish never able to take charge. The Cougars cut the deficit to five at 24-19 off a service ace by Shawn Beckham but that would be as close as they would get after Notre Dame used three quick points to take its lead back to eight at 27-19. The game would end with an eight-point difference at 30-23. Charleston nailed only one less kill off one less attempt than Notre Dame but had four more errors to come away with a 23.3 hitting percentage. Notre Dame registered a 34.1 hitting percentage for game one.

The College of Charleston jumped out to an early lead but Notre Dame came back to tie the game at 13-13 in the second game. The Cougars and Fighting Irish traded points and the lead several times but it was the home team that took a 26-20 advantage late. The Cougars attempted the comeback but fell short 30-24. Charleston had 14 kills compared to 15 by Notre Dame in the second game. The Fighting Irish had a 21.2 hitting percentage while the Cougars had an 8.7 hitting percentage.

The Cougars started the third game with a big 4-1 jump and at one point was up 10-5. The Fighting Irish fought back to tie the game at 22-22 and the remainder was a se-saw battle with the Cougars coming out on top 30-28. Greene led the charge with her 7 kills to help Charleston to a 22.4 hitting percentage. Notre Dame was held to 18.8 for the third game, despite a seven-kill effort by Lauren Kelbley.

The Fighting Irish and the Cougars kept each other from taking too big a lead in the fourth game with the visitors keeping pace with the hosts. Notre Dame built a 20-15 lead before Charleston fought back to bridge the gap to 23-22. Notre Dame NCAA tournament experience came through as the Fighting Irish held on for the 30-27 win. Charleston had a 23.1 hitting percentage while Notre Dame had a 42.5 for the fourth and final game.

Leading the charge for the Cougars was Greene with her 21 kills and 14 digs. Alisa Long and Beckham followed with 11 kills apiece, while Ballard had 10 to pace the team. Ballard also had 14 digs and Sara Davis added 13.

Notre Dame was led by Emily Loomis with 19 kills, while Jessica Kinder had 10 kills and 21 digs.

The College of Charleston ends its season at 29-6 while Notre Dame improves to 24-7 and moves on to play Michigan State Dec. 8th at 3:00 pm. The Cougar loss snapped a 22-match winning streak, second longest in the nation.


Short Box Score (Match)
2002 College of Charleston Volleyball
Coll of Charleston vs Notre Dame (Dec 07, 2002 at Notre Dame, Ind.)

Notre Dame def. Coll of Charleston 30-23,30-24,28-30,30-27

Coll of Charleston (29-6) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Tara Greene 21-0-3;
Shawn Beckham 11-1-6; Alisa Long 11-0-3; Stephanie Ballard 10-2-0;
Rebecca Wieters 9-0-3; Mary Sabatino 8-2-2; Sara Davis 1-0-0; Becca
Shaw 1-0-0; Totals 72-5-9.0. (Assists) - Mary Sabatino 58. (Dig
leaders) - Stephanie Ballard 14; Tara Greene 14; Sara Davis 13; Mary
Sabatino 11

Notre Dame (24-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Loomis, Emily 19-0-3; Neff,
Katie 13-0-4; Kelbley, Lauren 13-1-7; Kinder, Jessica 10-4-3;
Brewster, Lauren 7-0-8; Kinder, Kristen 6-0-4; Totals 68-5-17.0.
(Assists) - Kinder, Kristen 53. (Dig leaders) - Henican, Meg 23;
Kinder, Jessica 21; Kinder, Kristen 8

Site: Notre Dame, Ind. (Joyce Center)
Date: Dec 07, 2002 Attend: 653 Time: 2:00
Referees: Patricia Salvatore, Brian Hemelgarn