ND downs Leopold in two-game match

~ The Bulldogs improved to 30-4 with their sweep of the Wildcats

The Notre Dame volleyball team knocked off visiting Leopold in two games Thursday night.

But the victory didn't come easily.

The Wildcats (23-3) made Notre Dame earn every point of its 25-19, 25-21 win.

"We knew they were going to be good coming into this," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "They've only lost two games. With senior night and all the excitement, I wasn't sure how we were going to start to be honest. Our seniors this year have been focused, and that's good."

The Bulldogs (30-4) jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead in the first game.

But Leopold responded with a 4-0 run after a timeout to even the game and swing the momentum.

"They were excited," Leopold coach Sandy Davis said of her players. "A little nervous, a little pressure on them. It's always exciting coming to Notre Dame and playing."

Notre Dame answered the run with a 4-0 run to grab a 9-5 lead and gain separation.

With the score at 10-8, the Bulldogs used a 5-0 run to stretch the lead to 15-8.

But Leopold wouldn't go away.

The Wildcats used another timeout to sort things out and came back with a 4-0 run to pull as close as 19-16.

The Bulldogs put the game out of reach with a 4-0 run.

"We knew they were going to be good," Notre Dame senior Meghan Dohogne said. "They're good every time. We wanted to win because it's our senior night, so we were extra pumped."

Leopold started the second game well.

The Wildcats took an early 8-6 lead to set the tone.

"I think that they moved the ball around real well," Stroup said of Leopold. "Their hitters placed the ball well; they're a good, solid all-around team. They don't make a lot of mistakes."

After Leopold's fast start, the Bulldogs battled back. The game was back and forth with no team going ahead by more than two until Notre Dame forged ahead 20-17.

"I think we had some good blocks in key moments to kind of kill the momentum a little bit," Stroup said. "They had a couple hitting errors at the right time for us. Our net play tonight has been better than that past couple of weeks."

The Bulldogs net play was the difference. Notre Dame consistently blocked the Wildcats' kill attempts. Dohogne led the Bulldogs with five kill blocks.

"They came out really well the second game," Dohogne said. "We just had to keep playing our game and do what we do. Stay together, stay motivated and push to the end."

With Dohogne blocking, Bulldog's Lindsay Strieker played well in the front and the back, a key to Notre Dame's success.

"Lindsay Strieker played really well," Stroup said. "In the back and front. She's developed into a really good all around player, and not just a front row player, she had some good blocks and good passes. They had hard serves and she was passing them right up to the target."

Davis noted the Wildcats passing failed to come through.

"Our passing was not on tonight," Davis said. "When you don't have passing you can't have offense. We made some good plays, but I think our passing was really off. It's something we have to work on the next few days.

"Notre Dame is an aggressive team. They block well, they hit the ball and move the ball well. They're a well rounded team, they're good."

Notre Dame would pull ahead 23-18 and go on to claim the second game and the match.

Shannon Brennan led the Bulldogs with five kills, 12 assists, and 12 digs.

Dohogne had three kills, five kill blocks and nine digs.

Abby Landwee led the Wildcats with four kills, six digs, and three blocks. Kirsten Thele added five kills and five digs, while Whittney Lukefar added 10 digs and Lauren Sieler tallied 10 assists.