BOX SCORE
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- For the first time since Sept. 23, 2006, the Western Michigan volleyball team overcame a two-set deficit to defeat Notre Dame 17-25, 16-25, 25-16, 25-20, 15-9 in the championship match of the Golden Dome Invitational in front of 1,115 at the Joyce Center.
This is the third tournament championship of the fall for the Broncos (9-2) and the first victory over the Fighting Irish (5-7) since Nov. 3, 1990. The win at the Joyce Center was the first since Sept. 15, 1989 on the Irish's home floor. Western Michigan's two non-conference losses before Mid-American Conference play is the best mark since the 1996 squad started 8-1 before conference action started.
Sophomore middle blocker Jaime Gotham had 12 kills, hitting .367 and six blocks in the final to earn tournament MVP honors. Junior outside hitter Michelle Moore had a match-high 24 kills to move into 12th all-time at WMU with 1,110 kills and junior libero Caitlin Strimel had a match-high 24 digs, as both players were also named to the all-tournament team.
Junior Katie Eberling notched her 34th career-double with 10 kills and 14 digs against Notre Dame. Her 14 digs moved her into 10th all-time in career digs with 852. Sophomore Allyson Doyle added 20 digs, while junior Jillian Mitchell had a match-high 47 assists, six digs, five kills and four blocks.
The Broncos wore down Notre Dame as the Irish had a lower hitting percentage in every set of the match, eventually ending with a -.048 mark in the final frame. For the match, WMU hit .165 with 61 kills and 30 errors, while Notre Dame hit .173 with 55 kills and 25 errors. The Broncos also added 10 total blocks, while Notre Dame had 13.
After evening the match with wins in sets three and four, the Broncos carried that momentum into the decisive fifth frame. A block by Gotham and Mitchell, followed by two more Notre Dame miscues gave the Broncos a three-point edge, 5-2, and forced Notre Dame to call timeout. The Broncos didn't relax as Gotham picked up a solo block and service ace to help the Broncos push their lead to six, 10-4.
Notre Dame pulled to within three points, 12-9, after a pair of blocks, but that's when Western Michigan closed the door. Moore had back-to-back kills to set up match point and Notre Dame hit it long to give the Broncos the Golden Dome Invitational championship.
Notre Dame had a negative hitting percentage in the final set with six kills and seven errors, three of which were WMU blocks. The Broncos added six kills of their own in the set five.
Set one started off close with the Broncos taking a pair of early leads after kills by Gotham (2-1) and Moore (3-2). Notre Dame then scored three-straight points to take a 6-4 lead that let them play from in front the rest of the set. A service ace by the Fighting Irish pushed their advantage to seven, 19-12, before WMU staged a run. Eberling and Kate Corbett had kills sandwiched around a Notre Dame point and then Moore knocked down a kill off a pass from Mitchell and then hammered home an overpass. The Broncos followed with a block by Gotham and Mitchell to pull within three, 20-17.
The Fighting Irish then blocked Moore on the next point to start a 5-0 run that gave them the opening set, 25-17. Notre Dame hit .303 with 14 kills and four errors, while WMU was held to .073 hitting with 12 kills and nine errors.
The second set saw Notre Dame jump out to a 3-0 lead, before a Moore kill put the Broncos on the board and Gotham's kill on an overpass pulled WMU to within one, 5-4. The Fighting Irish stiffened and went on an 8-2 run to push their lead to 13-6 after four-straight WMU attack errors. Four-straight kills by the Irish later in the set gave them their largest lead of the match, 21-10, before the Broncos began to rally.
Doyle had a kill and two points later Moore gave the Broncos their first ace of the match. A kill by the Irish stopped the Broncos' four-point run at 22-14. The Broncos got a rare dig-kill on the very next point as sophomore Courtney Seiler dug an attack by Notre Dame back over the net, where it dropped inbounds for her first career kill. That highlight, however, wasn't enough as Notre Dame took the second set, 25-16.
Notre Dame upped their kills to 17 in the second set, while hitting just five errors for a .273 attack percentage. The Broncos dropped just nine kills, in addition to seven errors to hit .041 for the set.
The Broncos bounced back after the 10-minute break, but it took a few points. The Fighting Irish jumped out to an 8-4 lead before the Broncos went on a 15-3 run to establish a 19-11 lead. Moore was key in the rally with six kills, including one that pushed her past Lise Martin into 11th place all-time at WMU in career kills. Eberling was also key in the rally with a pair of kills and an ace.
WMU was able to play sideout volleyball the rest of the set to pull back within one, 25-16, in the match. WMU had 19 kills in the third set to only four errors for a robust .429 attack percentage, while holding Notre Dame to nine kills and three errors on 36 attempts for a .167 attack mark.
The Fighting Irish lived up to their nickname by scoring the first four points of set four to force head coach Colleen Munson to burn a timeout. The Broncos refocused and rattled off a 7-3 run to knot the score at seven. Notre Dame built its lead back up to two when the Broncos went on a 4-0 run behind a block from Corbett and Mitchell and Eberling kill to go up 12-10. Notre Dame hung close for a little while, but could never even the score and the Broncos eventually ended it behind kills from Corbett and Gotham out of the middle.
WMU had 15 kills in the fourth set, while holding Notre Dame to just nine kills for the second-straight set.
The Broncos, preseason favorites to repeat as MAC West champions, begin conference play and make their home debut next week with Northern Illinois on Thursday at 7 p.m. and defending MAC Tournament champion and preseason MAC East favorite Miami on Saturday at 7 p.m. at University Arena.
