Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The Notre Dame Falcons captured their first American Mideast Conference victory of the season on Tuesday afternoon, as they defeated the Carlow Celtics in five sets.
The victory for the Falcons (3-24, 1-6) snaps a seven match road losing streak, and a brief, two game skid overall. For the Celtics (11-15, 0-6), the loss was their sixth in their last seven matches. The Falcons have now won 11 straight matches against Carlow, and have not lost to the Celtics since Nov. 8, 2003.
After falling behind 2-0, the Falcons rallied to take the final three sets. Carlow won the first two sets by a pair of tight two point margins, 25-23, and 27-25. Notre Dame then came from behind to win the next two sets, 25-22, and again, 25-22, to force a decisive fifth set, which they won in exciting fashion, 15-13.
For the second match in a row, #Brianne Schmansky# led Notre Dame in kills, delivering 20 on the evening, establishing a season best for NDC. #Kari Kincannon# came through with 16 kills, while #Natalie Houdek# contributed with 12, and both #Jessica Suvak#, and #Taylor Thomas# chipped in with 11 a piece. #Tayler Pugliese# once again led the Falcons with 62 assists. #Cristin Brown had 21 digs in the match while Suvak ended up with 18, #Kelsey Swords# registered 14, and #Lauren Turner# ended up with 13. Thomas contributed three solo blocks to lead NDC, while Schmansky and Houdek each had two solo blocks, and four total.
The Falcons will be back in action again on Thursday, Oct. 21, when they head to Pepper Pike, Ohio, for an American Mideast Conference matchup with Ursuline. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
NOTES FROM THE NEST …
ROAD TRIP: The Falcons are in the middle of a stretch where they will play four straight matches on the road, and don't come back to College Road again until Tuesday, Oct. 26. Notre Dame's first victory came away from College Road, as they are a combined 1-17 between road matches and matches played at neutral sites.
GOING ON THE DEFENSIVE: Junior Natalie Houdek leads Notre Dame this season with 58 total blocks, including 31 solos. Freshmen
Taylor Thomas ranks second on the team, with 53 total blocks, and
Brianne Schmansky is third with 41.
SETTING THE TABLE: Pugliese is Notre Dame's leader in assists this season with 759, averaging 8.16 assists per set. She has dished out 20 or more assists in 12 consecutive matches. The sophomore from Ashtabula, Ohio, also ranks third on the team with 155 digs, behind Cristin Brown and Lauren Turner.
