8-2 Lady Flames Bound for Notre Dame
9/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Free live video streaming for Liberty-Notre Dame match
Live stats for Liberty-Notre Dame match
Live stats for Liberty-Western Michigan match
Live stats for Liberty-UC Irvine match
The Liberty volleyball team will look to bounce back from a pair of losses at last weekend's Varney's Kansas State Invitational, when the Lady Flames travel to Notre Dame for the Golden Dome Invitational. The task will not be easy, as Liberty is scheduled to play a trio of formidable opponents this weekend.
The Lady Flames will square off with host Notre Dame Friday evening, before battling MAC West Division preseason favorite Western Michigan on Saturday and UC Irvine Sunday afternoon. The tournament will serve as Liberty's final tune-up in preparation for the start of Big South Conference action.
Golden Dome Invitational
South Bend, Ind. (Joyce Center)
Friday, Sept. 19
5 p.m. – UC Irvine (4-6, 0-0 Big West) vs. Western Michigan (7-1, 0-0 MAC)
7 p.m. – Liberty (8-2, 0-0 Big South) at Notre Dame (3-6, 0-0 Big East)
Saturday, Sept. 20
5 p.m. – Liberty vs. Western Michigan
7 p.m. – UC Irvine at Notre Dame
Sunday, Sept. 21
Noon – Liberty vs. UC Irvine
2 p.m. – Western Michigan at Notre Dame
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Live stats will be available for each of Liberty's three weekend matches at the Golden Dome Invitational. The links may be found at the top of this release or on the Liberty volleyball schedule/results page.
Live streaming video will also be provided, free of charge, for Friday evening's Liberty at Notre Dame match, through the Notre Dame athletics website. A link to Notre Dame's video streaming page is found at the top of this release.
A Look at Liberty
Liberty, coached by Shane Pinder (67-70 in his fifth season), improved its record to 8-0 with a 3-1 victory over Cornell, Sept. 12, at the Varney's Kansas State Invitational. The Lady Flames then dropped their first two matches of the 2008 season the following day. Liberty saw 2007 Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa come from behind in each of the first two sets to defeat the Lady Flames, 3-0. The Lady Flames then became the first visiting team to win a game at No. 19 Kansas State in 2008, before dropping a 3-1 decision to the Wildcats.
For the third weekend in a row, junior middle blocker Chelaine McCarty was named to an all-tournament team. She hit a team-high .377 with 25 kills during Liberty's three matches at the event. If McCarty is included on the all-tournament team at Notre Dame, she will have matched teammate Kallie Corbin's achievement from the 2007 campaign. Last season, the Liberty setter made the all-tournament at each of the Lady Flames' first four tournaments.
The Lady Flames own an 8-2 record through the first 10 matches of the season for the first time since 1996. That season, Liberty finished 24-10. The Lady Flames also sport the best record of any Big South team, with High Point (7-2) and Radford (5-2) sitting closely behind.
Aces Hard to Come By
Even though Liberty lost its Sept. 13 matches to Northern Iowa and Kansas State, the Lady Flames' serve reception was nearly impeccable. The Panthers and Wildcats, who opened the week with a combined record of 19-2, totaled just one service ace against Liberty. Kansas State was held without an ace for the first time since November 1998, snapping its streak of 297 straight matches with at least one ace.
Freshman libero Kelly Haseman led the way, handling all 67 of her serve reception attempts successfully during the Lady Flames' three matches at the tournament. For the season, Liberty leads the Big South Conference, yielding only 0.74 aces per set.
.400 Watch Continues
Despite hitting below .300 for the first time in her last eight matches, Sept. 13 at No. 19 Kansas State, McCarty remains close to .400 this season. The junior is hitting .391 through Liberty's first 10 matches, putting her atop the Big South statistics and No. 36 nationally. McCarty is attempting to become the first Lady Flame since Theresa Bream in 1989 to hit .400 in a season.
Lack of Losing Streaks
The Lady Flames will attempt to halt a two-match losing streak, Friday evening versus Notre Dame. Liberty has not dropped three matches in a row since losing its first seven matches of the 2006 season.
Novelty Against Notre Dame
Liberty is aiming to become the first women's team in Liberty history to defeat Notre Dame. Last season, the Flames baseball squad opened the Jim Toman coaching era with a 6-2 triumph over the Fighting Irish, on Feb. 22. The win marked the first time in Liberty athletics history, a Flames team has been victorious versus Notre Dame.
Among the Big South's Best
In addition to McCarty leading the Big South in attack percentage, three other Lady Flames rank among the top three in conference statistical categories. Corbin sits second in assists, with 9.63 assists per set. Haseman is listed third in digs (3.74 dps), while senior middle blocker Ashley Webber is currently third in blocks (0.97 bps).
Around the Big South
Charleston Southern sophomore outside hitter Amanda Hill made the Big South All-Freshman team a season ago, but has taken a step forward in 2008. The back-to-back Big South Player of the Week leads the conference in kills and ranks ninth in both aces and digs.
High Point is the hottest team in the Big South, as the Panthers have won six consecutive matches, improving to 7-2. High Point is bound for New York, where the Panthers will compete in this weekend's University of Buffalo Classic.
UNC Asheville has won four of its last five matches, including a 3-2 victory at N.C. State on Sept. 13. The triumph was the Bulldogs' first-ever decision over an ACC volleyball opponent.
Big South teams have been quite competitive with the ACC this season, winning three out of seven head-to-head matchups between the two conferences. In addition to UNC Asheville's win over N.C. State, Liberty owns victories over both Maryland and N.C. State. Three Big South-ACC clashes are slated for this weekend, including Gardner-Webb versus Duke, Winthrop versus North Carolina and UNC Asheville versus Virginia Tech.
Scouting Reports
Notre Dame – 3-6, 0-0 Big East
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Big East Conference are based in South Bend, Ind. The Fighting Irish are coached by Debbie Brown, who is 410-155 in her 18th season at Notre Dame. Overall, she is 527-238 in 25 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
Notre Dame has dropped six of its last seven matches, entering the Golden Dome Invitational. Last weekend, the Fighting Irish fell to a trio of nationally-ranked opponents (No. 16 Cal Poly, No. 4 California and host No. 11 Minnesota) at the Diet Coke Classic, hosted by Minnesota. Notre Dame nearly pulled off an upset of Cal, pushing the Golden Bears to five sets on Sept. 13.
Kellie Sciacca, a 6-1 sophomore middle blocker, was named to the all-tournament team last weekend. Last season's AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year, Sciacca has 80 kills this season and leads the team in both attack percentage (.273) and blocks (32). She is one of four players on the Notre Dame roster with either 80 or 81 kills so far this season.
Notre Dame is tough to beat at the Joyce Center. The Fighting Irish did fall by a 3-1 count to Valparaiso on Aug. 31, but Notre Dame is 200-38 all-time at home under Brown's direction.
Notre Dame and Liberty have only met once before on the volleyball court. The two teams faced each other in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament, in the Lady Flames' first-ever postseason appearance at the Division I level. Notre Dame claimed a 3-0 win in the match played in Fayetteville, Ark.
Western Michigan – 7-1, 0-0 MAC
The Western Michigan Broncos, who won the 2007 Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division title, are coached by Colleen Munson. Munson is 70-37 in her fourth season at the helm and is 121-136 in nine total years of collegiate head coaching experience.
Western Michigan, located in Kalamazoo, Mich., has lost only once during the 2008 campaign, falling in five sets at Wake Forest on Sept. 12. Western Michigan is playing a bit shorthanded, as senior middle blocker Ashley Vogl, a two-time all-conference performer, suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sept. 6.
In Vogl's absence, a pair of juniors have led the way for the Broncos. Setter Jillian Mitchell has been named to the all-tournament team at all three of Western Michigan's tournaments this year. Classmate Michelle Moore, a 5-10 outside hitter, paces the squad with 110 kills. The first-team All-MAC performer in 2007 is now over 1,000 kills for her career.
The Western Michigan match will hold special meaning for Liberty freshman Haseman, whose hometown of Three Rivers, Mich., is situated 25 miles south of Kalamazoo.
Western Michigan won its only previous meeting with Liberty, 3-0 on Sept. 15, 2000. The contest was a part of Western Michigan's Ameritech Invitational. Rachel Harnack paced the Lady Flames with 15 kills, and current Liberty assistant coach Crystal Carey appeared in two of the sets.
Liberty won its first match versus a MAC opponent this season, defeating Central Michigan, 3-2 on Aug. 30 at VCU's Third Degree Sportswear Invitational.
UC Irvine – 4-6, 0-0 Big West
The UC Irvine Anteaters compete in the Big West Conference and are coached by Charlie Brande. Brande is 122-128 in nine seasons on the UC Irvine bench.
UC Irvine has faced a difficult early-season schedule. Like Liberty, the Anteaters fell to nationally-ranked Kansas State in four sets. UC Irvine has also suffered defeats to Pac-10 opponents Arizona State and Oregon.
The Anteaters' lineup features 5-11 sophomore outside hitter Kari Pestolesi, the team leader with 107 kills. She was the Big West and AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year in 2007. Meanwhile, junior setter Taryn Robertson has tallied 365 assists this season and is nearing the 3,000-assist plateau for her career.
UC Irvine is 1-0 all-time versus Liberty, winning in a 3-0 sweep on the Anteaters' home court on Sept. 2, 2004. Current Lady Flames assistant coach Jennifer (Belk) Vaden posted a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs in Shane Pinder's head coaching debut.
Live stats for Liberty-Notre Dame match
Live stats for Liberty-Western Michigan match
Live stats for Liberty-UC Irvine match
The Liberty volleyball team will look to bounce back from a pair of losses at last weekend's Varney's Kansas State Invitational, when the Lady Flames travel to Notre Dame for the Golden Dome Invitational. The task will not be easy, as Liberty is scheduled to play a trio of formidable opponents this weekend.
The Lady Flames will square off with host Notre Dame Friday evening, before battling MAC West Division preseason favorite Western Michigan on Saturday and UC Irvine Sunday afternoon. The tournament will serve as Liberty's final tune-up in preparation for the start of Big South Conference action.
Golden Dome Invitational
South Bend, Ind. (Joyce Center)
Friday, Sept. 19
5 p.m. – UC Irvine (4-6, 0-0 Big West) vs. Western Michigan (7-1, 0-0 MAC)
7 p.m. – Liberty (8-2, 0-0 Big South) at Notre Dame (3-6, 0-0 Big East)
Saturday, Sept. 20
5 p.m. – Liberty vs. Western Michigan
7 p.m. – UC Irvine at Notre Dame
Sunday, Sept. 21
Noon – Liberty vs. UC Irvine
2 p.m. – Western Michigan at Notre Dame
How to Follow the Lady Flames
Live stats will be available for each of Liberty's three weekend matches at the Golden Dome Invitational. The links may be found at the top of this release or on the Liberty volleyball schedule/results page.
Live streaming video will also be provided, free of charge, for Friday evening's Liberty at Notre Dame match, through the Notre Dame athletics website. A link to Notre Dame's video streaming page is found at the top of this release.
A Look at Liberty
Liberty, coached by Shane Pinder (67-70 in his fifth season), improved its record to 8-0 with a 3-1 victory over Cornell, Sept. 12, at the Varney's Kansas State Invitational. The Lady Flames then dropped their first two matches of the 2008 season the following day. Liberty saw 2007 Missouri Valley Conference champion Northern Iowa come from behind in each of the first two sets to defeat the Lady Flames, 3-0. The Lady Flames then became the first visiting team to win a game at No. 19 Kansas State in 2008, before dropping a 3-1 decision to the Wildcats.
For the third weekend in a row, junior middle blocker Chelaine McCarty was named to an all-tournament team. She hit a team-high .377 with 25 kills during Liberty's three matches at the event. If McCarty is included on the all-tournament team at Notre Dame, she will have matched teammate Kallie Corbin's achievement from the 2007 campaign. Last season, the Liberty setter made the all-tournament at each of the Lady Flames' first four tournaments.
The Lady Flames own an 8-2 record through the first 10 matches of the season for the first time since 1996. That season, Liberty finished 24-10. The Lady Flames also sport the best record of any Big South team, with High Point (7-2) and Radford (5-2) sitting closely behind.
Aces Hard to Come By
Even though Liberty lost its Sept. 13 matches to Northern Iowa and Kansas State, the Lady Flames' serve reception was nearly impeccable. The Panthers and Wildcats, who opened the week with a combined record of 19-2, totaled just one service ace against Liberty. Kansas State was held without an ace for the first time since November 1998, snapping its streak of 297 straight matches with at least one ace.
Freshman libero Kelly Haseman led the way, handling all 67 of her serve reception attempts successfully during the Lady Flames' three matches at the tournament. For the season, Liberty leads the Big South Conference, yielding only 0.74 aces per set.
.400 Watch Continues
Despite hitting below .300 for the first time in her last eight matches, Sept. 13 at No. 19 Kansas State, McCarty remains close to .400 this season. The junior is hitting .391 through Liberty's first 10 matches, putting her atop the Big South statistics and No. 36 nationally. McCarty is attempting to become the first Lady Flame since Theresa Bream in 1989 to hit .400 in a season.
Lack of Losing Streaks
The Lady Flames will attempt to halt a two-match losing streak, Friday evening versus Notre Dame. Liberty has not dropped three matches in a row since losing its first seven matches of the 2006 season.
Novelty Against Notre Dame
Liberty is aiming to become the first women's team in Liberty history to defeat Notre Dame. Last season, the Flames baseball squad opened the Jim Toman coaching era with a 6-2 triumph over the Fighting Irish, on Feb. 22. The win marked the first time in Liberty athletics history, a Flames team has been victorious versus Notre Dame.
Among the Big South's Best
In addition to McCarty leading the Big South in attack percentage, three other Lady Flames rank among the top three in conference statistical categories. Corbin sits second in assists, with 9.63 assists per set. Haseman is listed third in digs (3.74 dps), while senior middle blocker Ashley Webber is currently third in blocks (0.97 bps).
Around the Big South
Charleston Southern sophomore outside hitter Amanda Hill made the Big South All-Freshman team a season ago, but has taken a step forward in 2008. The back-to-back Big South Player of the Week leads the conference in kills and ranks ninth in both aces and digs.
High Point is the hottest team in the Big South, as the Panthers have won six consecutive matches, improving to 7-2. High Point is bound for New York, where the Panthers will compete in this weekend's University of Buffalo Classic.
UNC Asheville has won four of its last five matches, including a 3-2 victory at N.C. State on Sept. 13. The triumph was the Bulldogs' first-ever decision over an ACC volleyball opponent.
Big South teams have been quite competitive with the ACC this season, winning three out of seven head-to-head matchups between the two conferences. In addition to UNC Asheville's win over N.C. State, Liberty owns victories over both Maryland and N.C. State. Three Big South-ACC clashes are slated for this weekend, including Gardner-Webb versus Duke, Winthrop versus North Carolina and UNC Asheville versus Virginia Tech.
Scouting Reports
Notre Dame – 3-6, 0-0 Big East
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish of the Big East Conference are based in South Bend, Ind. The Fighting Irish are coached by Debbie Brown, who is 410-155 in her 18th season at Notre Dame. Overall, she is 527-238 in 25 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
Notre Dame has dropped six of its last seven matches, entering the Golden Dome Invitational. Last weekend, the Fighting Irish fell to a trio of nationally-ranked opponents (No. 16 Cal Poly, No. 4 California and host No. 11 Minnesota) at the Diet Coke Classic, hosted by Minnesota. Notre Dame nearly pulled off an upset of Cal, pushing the Golden Bears to five sets on Sept. 13.
Kellie Sciacca, a 6-1 sophomore middle blocker, was named to the all-tournament team last weekend. Last season's AVCA Northeast Region Freshman of the Year, Sciacca has 80 kills this season and leads the team in both attack percentage (.273) and blocks (32). She is one of four players on the Notre Dame roster with either 80 or 81 kills so far this season.
Notre Dame is tough to beat at the Joyce Center. The Fighting Irish did fall by a 3-1 count to Valparaiso on Aug. 31, but Notre Dame is 200-38 all-time at home under Brown's direction.
Notre Dame and Liberty have only met once before on the volleyball court. The two teams faced each other in the first round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament, in the Lady Flames' first-ever postseason appearance at the Division I level. Notre Dame claimed a 3-0 win in the match played in Fayetteville, Ark.
Western Michigan – 7-1, 0-0 MAC
The Western Michigan Broncos, who won the 2007 Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division title, are coached by Colleen Munson. Munson is 70-37 in her fourth season at the helm and is 121-136 in nine total years of collegiate head coaching experience.
Western Michigan, located in Kalamazoo, Mich., has lost only once during the 2008 campaign, falling in five sets at Wake Forest on Sept. 12. Western Michigan is playing a bit shorthanded, as senior middle blocker Ashley Vogl, a two-time all-conference performer, suffered a season-ending knee injury on Sept. 6.
In Vogl's absence, a pair of juniors have led the way for the Broncos. Setter Jillian Mitchell has been named to the all-tournament team at all three of Western Michigan's tournaments this year. Classmate Michelle Moore, a 5-10 outside hitter, paces the squad with 110 kills. The first-team All-MAC performer in 2007 is now over 1,000 kills for her career.
The Western Michigan match will hold special meaning for Liberty freshman Haseman, whose hometown of Three Rivers, Mich., is situated 25 miles south of Kalamazoo.
Western Michigan won its only previous meeting with Liberty, 3-0 on Sept. 15, 2000. The contest was a part of Western Michigan's Ameritech Invitational. Rachel Harnack paced the Lady Flames with 15 kills, and current Liberty assistant coach Crystal Carey appeared in two of the sets.
Liberty won its first match versus a MAC opponent this season, defeating Central Michigan, 3-2 on Aug. 30 at VCU's Third Degree Sportswear Invitational.
UC Irvine – 4-6, 0-0 Big West
The UC Irvine Anteaters compete in the Big West Conference and are coached by Charlie Brande. Brande is 122-128 in nine seasons on the UC Irvine bench.
UC Irvine has faced a difficult early-season schedule. Like Liberty, the Anteaters fell to nationally-ranked Kansas State in four sets. UC Irvine has also suffered defeats to Pac-10 opponents Arizona State and Oregon.
The Anteaters' lineup features 5-11 sophomore outside hitter Kari Pestolesi, the team leader with 107 kills. She was the Big West and AVCA West Region Freshman of the Year in 2007. Meanwhile, junior setter Taryn Robertson has tallied 365 assists this season and is nearing the 3,000-assist plateau for her career.
UC Irvine is 1-0 all-time versus Liberty, winning in a 3-0 sweep on the Anteaters' home court on Sept. 2, 2004. Current Lady Flames assistant coach Jennifer (Belk) Vaden posted a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs in Shane Pinder's head coaching debut.
Tuesday, November 18
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