URBANA, Ohio -- Four Falcons posted double-digit kill totals and junior #Mandy Bastian# tallied 30 digs, as Notre Dame nipped Urbana, 3-2, on Wednesday night.
With the victory, Notre Dame (5-6) has now won three straight matches and four of their last five since starting the season off with just one win in their first six matches. NDC claimed the hard-fought 3-2 win over Urbana (3-6) by scores of 25-22, 22-25, 25-22, 19-25, and 15-13. The Blue & White won despite hitting just .223 over the five sets.
“We didn't play our best tonight,” admitted Head Coach #Mark Ridley#. “But to not be on top of our game and still win on the road, in a way that says something about how we're coming together as a team.”
Junior #Katie Barbis# added to what is now a string of solid, all-around performances with an excellent night for the Falcons, who defeated Urbana in what was the Blue Knights' home opener. Barbis had a team high 13 kills, two service aces and 24 digs. Senior setter #Kate Verhoff# added 11 kills and an NDC season-high 42 assists.
Bastian, a junior transfer from Sierra College (Calif.), had another fine match for the Blue & White. The 5-foot-8 hitter collected three aces and notched her second 30-dig performance of the season. Bastian now has 143 digs on the season in just 27 sets (5.3 digs per set).
With the win, Notre Dame defeated Urbana for the first time since Aug. 29, 1998, and in doing so, the Falcons evened their 2009 road record at 1-1. That road record will be tested again and again in the near future - Wednesday's contest in Urbana marked the first of 10 straight road matches for NDC, which won't play again on their home hardwood until Oct. 6.
Notre Dame's next match is slated for Friday, Sept. 11, at 5 p.m., when the Falcons take on Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) in a neutral-site match at Oberlin College. NDC will then play Oberlin on Saturday.
NOTES FROM THE NEST…
KNIGHT GAME: Urbana University is located in Urbana, Ohio, 60 miles east of Columbus. The University was founded in 1850 and has an enrollment of 1,220. The Blue Knights compete as an NCAA-II independent in 13 sports.
SERIES: Since 1998, NDC is now (2-7) against Urbana. The Falcons came into the match with a seven-match losing streak in the series. Wednesday's match is the opener of a home-and-home series with the Blue Knights; Urbana will visit South Euclid on Nov. 5, in what will be Notre Dame's regular season finale. … The match at the Warren G. Grimes Center also marked Urbana's 2009 home opener. Last season (2008), UU went 3-6 at home and 7-27 overall.
RAISING THE BAR: Over her last four matches, Katie Barbis has garnered 52 kills and 49 digs. Her 24 digs on Wednesday are a personal career-high. The 5-foot-10 Mentor, Ohio, native now has 133 digs this season.
