Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/159744
ND Sports they are until they adapt to the physicality or the speed of the college game. I'm a little more inclined to throw our young players in the fire early." Three of Notre Dame's top five scorers a year ago were freshmen, including leading scorer Crystal Thomas. She was also with the U-20 team this summer. Senior midfielder Mandy Laddish, a former national team player as well, said integrating the talented newcomers is a process that takes time. It's not the speed or athleticism, as much as picking up the mental difference in Notre Dame's style. "It's a struggle at the beginning," she said. "Everyone is at the same place technically, it's just the way we think and the way we show and play off of each other. It's more thinking involved than other places." Waldrum expects his team's style will be a better fit in the ACC this season than it was during recent years in the Big East. The Irish play a more skill- and possession-oriented game, which matches the talent-packed rosters that await them this season. Eventually, he said, he might have to focus more on athleticism to keep up with some of the faster teams in the conference. The ACC's coaches voted Notre Dame to finish fifth in the conference during their inaugural season. The Irish like their chances of surprising some of their new opponents this year. "Honestly, if we have the right mindset, I think we make it to the ACC championship and hopefully make it to the Final Four," Laddish said. "I think we can make an impact in the ACC every year." Notre Dame made it to the NCAA quarterfinals in 2012 before falling to new ACC foe Florida State. They begin their new season Aug. 23 by hosting Illinois and play their first official ACC conference game at North Carolina State Sept. 12. Volleyball A far more cultured Irish volleyball squad begins its maiden voyage in the ACC at the end of the month. Notre Dame prepped for the move this summer by taking a two-week trip overseas to play some top competition in Europe. The 11-day tour in May sent the team to Prague, Vienna, Slovenia and a few stops in Italy. They played six matches against some of those countries' national clubs between team-building exercises and some sightseeing. "While we concluded the trip with a 2-4 record, I consider it to be a step in the right direction," senior libero Andrea McHugh wrote on a team blog located at UND.com. "We played at a high level of volleyball throughout the entire trip and were challenged as a team. … We are playing better volleyball than we were during spring, growing closer and developing into our roles each and every game." McHugh is one of five seniors on this year's veteran-heavy team. Only one sophomore and two freshmen are on the 13-person roster. Juniors Toni Alugbue and Jeni Houser, the team's top two leaders in kills a year ago,