The Irish couldn't halt their downward spiral weekend this weekend.
Two conference losses rounded out the team's longest losing streak since Sept. 2004. Falling to Cincinnati (17-5, 7-3 Big East) and Louisville (16-6, 9-1 Big East), the Irish (13-10) are now one of three teams in the Big East with a record of 7-3.
Notre Dame has lost its last nine games, and was swept on three consecutive occasions. Previously Notre Dame had not lost three games of a conference match since Nov. 2004.
Cincinnati 3, Notre Dame 0
Freshman Christina Kaelin led the effort against the Bearcats with 13 kills in the 20-30, 22-30, 28-30 loss.
Cincinnati won the final game in the same fashion that they won the first. Putting six unanswered points up right from the start, Cincinnati would not lose its lead for the entire game.
Notre Dame attempted to gain control late in the game with a 7-2 run, coming within four points of Cincinnati. This was not enough to fend the Bearcats off, and in the end, a kill from sophomore Jessie Nevitt sealed the match.
Sophomore Mallorie Croal tallied six blocks and 10 kills at a hitting percentage of .261 for Notre Dame. She was also second on the team with 13 digs. Senior Danielle Herndon led the Irish with 22 digs.
Freshman Jaime Frey led the Cincinnati defense with 33 digs.
Louisville 3, Notre Dame 0
Mallorie Croal and sophomore Justine Stremick each recorded ten kills in the 30-14, 30-22, 30-19 loss to Louisville.
The Irish worked well to keep up with the Cardinals in the third match, but a kill from freshman Tatyana Kolesnikova kicked off an 8-2 run for Louisville that Notre Dame was unable to recover from.
A final kill from senior Stephanie Marsh ended Louisville's sweep of Notre Dame.
Croal led the team with eight digs. The Notre Dame defense, which averages 17.5 digs per game only averaged 11.3 digs per game in their match against the Cardinals. This effort was not nearly enough to contain Kolesnikova's 19 kills, which she hit at a percentage of .692. Louisville as a team out hit Notre Dame .476 to .169.
Co-captain Adrianna Stasiuk, who is the team points leader at 4.06 points per game did not play in either match this weekend.
